QUESTION
What actions are being taken to address the decline in NYPD response times?
0:29:15
·
4 min
Operations have responded to the decline in NYPD response times primarily by attributing worsening traffic conditions as the key factor and taking several measures to address the issue.
- Worsening traffic conditions since the pandemic cited as the main reason for the increase in NYPD and FDNY response times.
- Efforts include reestablishing the 911 operating committee, which meets monthly, and establishing sub-working groups for performance management.
- Collaboration between the Department of Transportation (DOT) and emergency response agencies has been enhanced to address traffic and travel behavior trends.
- A broad range of potential solutions are being explored, from optimizing hospital turnaround times to improving the availability of emergency units.
- Despite some challenges being beyond control, actions are continually being taken to mitigate the impact on response times.
Lincoln Restler
0:29:15
So as I mentioned in my opening statement, you know, one of the core functions of the department, perhaps their most important function is to respond to crime and help keep our community safe.
0:29:25
The PMMR showed that NYPD from the time dispatch receives a call to the time officers arrived to all crimes in progress.
0:29:35
He's on on average now 13 minutes 48 seconds.
0:29:39
That's up almost 2 minutes, a 108 seconds from just last year but that's up almost 6 minutes from FY 19.
0:29:47
So how has operations responded to this stream decline in NYPD response times?
Dan Steinberg
0:29:55
Thank you for the question.
0:29:57
Obviously, it's been a real focus of the administration.
0:30:01
The full context, and a lot of what I'll be doing today is providing the full context.
0:30:06
Is that both NYPD and FDNY response times have been steadily slipping over the past couple of years.
0:30:11
And if you look at the breakdown of what's driving it, the travel segment is making up the lion's share of the increase.
0:30:17
And and so there's really no doubt that worsening traffic conditions are a factor.
0:30:22
You know, to step back emergency response times were never better than they were during the height of the pandemic that literally drove in the city's history.
0:30:30
There were no cars on the streets and people were generally avoiding hospitals.
0:30:34
And so a society returned to normal kind of in person activities where we're seeing a steady increase.
0:30:42
In response times, but also in the number of vehicle trips into the city every day.
0:30:46
So if you look across transportation systems buses and trains have come back between a ridership has come back between 60 to 75%.
0:30:56
While car ownership is is exponentially higher than before the pandemic, and the number of cars that are traveling across, bridges and tunnels every day has actually increased.
0:31:06
Compared to pre pandemic baseline.
0:31:08
So more people are driving, fewer vehicles are entering Manhattan.
0:31:12
The Manhattan core compared to pre pandemic And we're seeing slower vehicle speeds on major Boulevard city wide.
0:31:19
And and this is part of a national phenomenon of shifting patterns of travel behavior and work.
0:31:25
In in terms of the configuration and the intensity of traffic.
0:31:29
Chicago, Miami, Las Vegas have have had similar issues.
0:31:32
They're not necessarily doing as much as the city and state are doing.
0:31:36
But, you know, for this reason, we've actually had DOT brief, the emergency response agencies on these trends.
0:31:42
And and we we found that there wasn't enough dialogue between the people who study traffic as a science and and the people who have to navigate it.
0:31:50
In order to respond to emergencies.
0:31:54
Obviously, demand is always an issue.
0:31:56
The number of incidents had been increasing.
0:31:58
Over the time period that you described both in terms of crimes and in progress and and hospital visits.
0:32:07
And so, you know, I think in terms of what we're doing about it, my office does closely work with the deputy mayor for public safety.
0:32:16
We we reestablished the 911 operating committee.
0:32:20
It meets monthly.
0:32:21
There's sub working groups.
0:32:23
That are, you know, the the sort of purpose of the committee was to establish a performance management kind of regime.
0:32:30
So we're all looking the same data monthly, quarterly, and and using it to sort of ask questions and and chart progress.
0:32:41
And there's a number of areas that we're exploring.
0:32:45
And it's kind of a sprawling set of issues because it could be everything from hospital turnaround times when they ambulance drop somebody off to to to optimizing the DOA process, which is a very morbid construct.
0:32:58
And and the availability of of units.
0:33:01
So so it's a it's a multidimensional problem.
0:33:05
There are real forces at work, some beyond our control, but not that doesn't obviously mean that we we don't try to take action.
0:33:13
So that that's the the sort of high level description of what's
Lincoln Restler
0:33:16
happening on.
0:33:16
I think that's helpful.