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Q&A
OCME response times and potential improvements
4:08:36
ยท
118 sec
Council Member Lynn Schulman inquires about OCME's response times, ideal targets, and comparisons with other cities. Chief Medical Examiner Jason Graham provides information on current response times and explains the variables affecting them.
- Current average response time for investigations in the field is 2 hours and 25 minutes.
- Response times vary depending on the type of case and coordination with other agencies (e.g., crime scene processing).
- Jason Graham emphasizes the importance of responding as quickly as possible, especially in non-crime scene situations.
- Comparative data on response times in other cities was not immediately available but could be provided in a follow-up.
Lynn Schulman
4:08:36
What's the average response time?
Jason Graham
4:08:40
Depends on what specific area you're looking at.
4:08:43
Our MLI response times are two hours twenty two forty two.
4:08:50
So there are variabilities in our response times because it's a coordinated response.
4:08:56
Right.
4:08:57
Crime scene, for example, we're not called to respond to that scene until after a period of time has passed for crime scene to process the scene.
4:09:05
Right.
4:09:06
Other situations where dependent on the NYPD, for example, to report cases to us and then our response occurs from that point forward.
4:09:15
So it's it's variable depending on the type of case.
Lynn Schulman
4:09:18
Okay.
4:09:18
What would be your ideal response time from your perspective?
Jason Graham
4:09:23
Well, I don't know necessarily that I have an ideal response time in mind.
4:09:28
I think being that it is a coordinated response like that, it's difficult to say how long a a crime scene may take to process, for example, and then
Lynn Schulman
4:09:40
Right.
4:09:40
But if it's not a crime scene.
Scott Daly
4:09:41
If it's not
Jason Graham
4:09:42
a crime scene, as soon as possible.
4:09:44
We I I don't I wouldn't I I wouldn't have a, you know, think a specific target in mind, but I think that clearly we have there are families at death scenes.
4:09:55
There are other members of other response agencies, and it's the onus is on us to respond as quickly as possible.
Lynn Schulman
4:10:03
So do you know what they do in other cities?
4:10:05
What what other city response times are like?
4:10:08
Or if they have are there other cities that do have where they have they're treated as emergency vehicles or just out of curiosity.
4:10:16
I don't I
Jason Graham
4:10:17
don't know that I have figures off the top of my head.
4:10:20
We could we could provide that and follow-up.
4:10:23
Okay.
4:10:24
And just to correct that our current response times are for investigations in the field is two hours twenty five minutes.
Lynn Schulman
4:10:33
Okay.
4:10:33
Thank you.