Frequently Asked Questions about 911 data

Frequently Asked Questions about 911 data

Click here to download Oct. 2014 Seattle police response times. The following Q and A is about that document.
 
Q: This is really confusing. What exactly am I looking at?
A: This is Seattle Police 911 response time data from the month of October. We chose October, because it was the month before police began reviewing its 911 data for these delays.
It shows 911 data for all precincts in Seattle, by day of the week and time (on the 24-hour clock). The applicable columns are the first and second columns, which show crime occurrences and average response time.
 
Q: What does the first column show?
A: The first column is divided into call priority, number of calls and number of units. For example, on P. 1 in the West Precinct, the first line shows there was one Priority 1 Assault between midnight and 3:59 a.m., counting all Sundays in October. Four units responded to it.
 
Q: What does the second column show?
A: The second column is divided into dispatch delay, travel time, and total response time on average. Using the same example, that assault call took 0.3 minutes to dispatch, officers took 1.5 minutes to get there, and the total response time was 1.8 minutes.
 
Q: What does the third column show?
A: The third column is all the response times and time that units spent on the scene and later writing up a report. These figures are not applicable to our particular story.
 
Q:  Can you walk me through the legend at the bottom?
A: The first column of the legend shows the difference between Priority 1, 2, and 3-4. A priority 1 or 2 call is what's generally considered an emergency: A shooting, waking up to someone breaking into your home, someone taking your car from you with force or a weapon (also known as a carjacking).  A priority 3-4 call is lower-priority: You return home to find your house has been broken into, you walk outside to find your car has been stolen but you don't know when it happened.
 
The second column shows Seattle Police Department standards for responses. For a Priority 1 call, for example, SPD wants the call dispatched in less than a minute, officers should take less than 6 minutes to get there, and total response time should be less than 7 minutes. For a Priority 3-4 call, SPD wants the call dispatched in less than 20 minutes, officers should take less than 20 minutes to get there, and total response time should be less than 40 minutes.
 
Q: How do I know which police precinct covers my neighborhood?
A: You can click on this map: http://www.seattle.gov/police/maps/precinct_map.htm

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