Response Time

Response time is a commonly used indicator of police effectiveness and efficiency often measured as the length of time between a citizen call for service and an on-scene response by police. A faster response is considered more desirable, increasing the likelihood of an on-scene or near-scene apprehension of an offender and preventing citizen dissatisfaction with police. Rapid response is strongly tied to the idea of random preventive patrol, because patrol cars randomly dispersed throughout any geographic area are in a better position to respond quickly to calls wherever they may occur. It is true that rapid response matters in some cases, particularly those in which the police are notified while the crime is in progress. However, research has shown that rapid response does not itself influence citizen satisfaction or increase the probability of arrest in most cases.

One of the underlying assumptions of rapid response is that a faster response time increases the likelihood of an on-scene or near-scene arrest. If the police arrive quickly at the scene of a crime, the criminal might be thwarted in his or her efforts to complete the crime and/or will have little time to flee the scene. Consequently, a rapid response enhances police effectiveness by increasing the probability of apprehension. Although a rapid response certainly leads to an on-scene or near-scene arrest in some cases, particularly when the time between the offense and the citizen call to the police is minimized, research conducted since the 1970s has shown that a quick response is unrelated to apprehension in the vast majority of cases. Why is rapid response largely unrelated to apprehension probability? In many cases, the crime is discovered when the victim awakens, returns home from school or work, or some other similar situation. In these cases—often property crimes such as burglaries, larcenies, or automobile thefts—it is very unlikely that a response, however fast, will lead to an on-scene or near-scene arrest because the offense was likely committed some time before and the offender has long since fled the scene.

In other cases, the victim may indeed witness the criminal act in progress or be personally involved (e.g., as the victim of an attack). But for any number of reasons, including injury, disorientation, or lack of access to a telephone, there is often a delay in reporting the crime to law enforcement authorities. As a result, the response time, generally only several minutes or less if the police are notified while the crime is in progress, is much greater when the time lag between the time of crime commission and the time of crime reporting is taken into account. In these cases, the offender has likely fled the scene, negating any influence rapid response might have on the probability of apprehension. Response time can vary from place to place and can even vary within a specific jurisdiction. Numerous factors can contribute to the time it takes from the initial call for service to the time an officer arrives. Weather; traffic conditions; the caseload; staffing levels; available patrol cars; and the distance from the responding officer to the scene—which, in some cases, such as Indian reservations, can be substantial—all contribute to response time.

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