15 Minutes Is a Long Time to Wait If Bad Things Are Happening

New York City and 911 statistics. Data shows NYC's 911 response time is increasing, as are traffic fatalities - CBS New York

CBS New York is doing some stuff right,

A concerning factor is a significant increase in the end-to-end average response time to crime-in-progress 911 calls. In 2020, the average response time was 10 minutes, 56 seconds. In 2024, it was 15:23.

That is a 40.7% increase in the response time to a crime-in-progress. Now a lot of bad things can happen in 10 minutes, but even more can happen in 15 minutes.

CBS New York seems to be interested in only presenting the statistics as a mystery. There is not context. Were there more police in 2020, or fewer calls? Has something impacted traffic, making it harder for cops to get to the scene of a crime? These are mysteries that do not interest CBS New York.

These statistics come from the Mayor's Management Report, released by Eric Adams' administration in September. It is 558 pages of bureaucratic boilerplate, doublespeak, deflection, and, yes, some statistics for the past 5 years. I have not read it. You can find a link at the article linked at the top of this post.

I would imagine that the report contains some statement on how Mayor Adams' administration is planning to address the issues, which include shootings, gang-related activity, etc. Or maybe not. One would think that the reporter/editor of the article would have included some of that. Something along the lines of, "We are going to hire more police to address the 911 response time." Or maybe Democrats think that is the price you pay for defunding the police. Why do you want to call 911 anyway?

Calling 911 is a fine thing to do in an emergency. They can send a lot of help your way, but that help will not arrive immediately. You might want to think about what you are going to do in the meantime.