Colorado Springs police report a three-minute increase in response times for top-priority calls

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) - According to February 2024 data, it takes officers at the Colorado Springs Police Department (CSPD) 16 minutes and 46 seconds to respond to priority one calls.

Priority one calls are incidents that pose an immediate danger to the public. In 2022, the average response time for the same type of calls was 13 minutes and 34 seconds.

These numbers come as CSPD reports steady and increasing recruitment and retainment levels for sworn-in forces, at 776 officers. The total number of officers the department can employ by city-set standards is 818, which the department projects to meet by September of this year, thanks to continuous training academies.

Still, they point first to staffing needs when asked why the department is still seeing soaring response times for the most urgent calls.

"One of the factors that we have already worked on and already started is re-occurring or ongoing Colorado Springs Police Department Academies," Mary Rosenoff, the Deputy Chief of the Patrol Bureau at the Colorado Springs Police Department said.

Rosenoff said that response times can depend on the amount of available officers at any given time when a priority one call comes in.

However, response times are determined by complex equations. She says that sometimes an officer from one division -- nearly thirty minutes away -- will sometimes be asked to respond to a situation on the other side of the city, depending on availability.

"We still have we have 195 square miles to cover. We have four patrol divisions to do that," Rosenoff said.

To boot, many roads in Colorado Springs are undergoing construction projects, which change the amount of time it takes for officers to get to their next call.

"Did you pass a construction zone? Was there a school zone? Was there just normal traffic so that officer still had to pass through all of that, even if it's a priority one and they have to go code three, they still have to safely get there, otherwise we're not responding and being able to help," Rosenoff said.

Population density and growth also play a part in the problem, as Rosenoff pointed out that the steady rate of population growth has meant that 776 officers have to handle a population of just over half a million people.

"There is certainly an increase in calls for service, but I think that goes hand in hand when you have a city that for years, at least the last few years, has been named one of the best places to live," Rosenoff said.

Rosenoff explained that calls for service have also been skyrocketing, meaning the department has more to handle than ever. KRDO13 requested those data points but did not hear back from the department.

"We feel the growth. We're responding to that growth," Rosenoff said.