Dispatched calls are calls for police assistance that are generated by the community, through a call or text to 911 or the non-emergency line (503-823-3333). The Portland Police Bureau (PPB) counts all calls for service where at least one Portland Police unit was dispatched.  When a call for service is received by a dispatcher at Bureau of Emergency Communications (BOEC), it is assigned a priority level based on the severity of the incident and is used to prioritize the police response. A call for service can be escalated to a higher priority before being cleared if the nature of the incident changes and more police units are necessary.  High priority calls are in-progress events where persons or high-value property are in immediate danger. Response time is the amount of time, in minutes, that it takes the first unit to arrive on-scene once the dispatcher places the call in the police dispatch queue.

There has been an increasing trend in the high priority dispatched call response time. Response time increased 129% between FY2020 and FY2024. During that same period, the number of filled PPB non-trainee officer positions decreased 23% (~126). PPB officer positions respond to high priority calls for service. The decreased staffing levels impact the resources available to respond, contributing to the increased response times. High priority calls also require a multiple unit and officer response, which multiplies the impact of staffing reductions.

There are two components of response time and both are contributing to the increases. The time a call waits in the police queue for an available officer (time in queue) increased by about 9 minutes between FY2020 and FY2024 as officer availability decreased. Officer availability is impacted by staffing levels as well as call volume, complexity, and length. Additionally, the travel time component increased by about 2 minutes. The first unit available to respond to high priority calls may be traveling from other districts or precincts which contributed to increase travel time. Even with the increase in average response time, PPB responded to over 50% of the high priority calls in under 10 minutes in FY2024.

Response time is calculated for dispatched police calls for service with a priority level of 1, 2, or 3. Response times are not calculated for calls that remain in the police dispatch queue for more than fourteen hours after being received or require more than three hours for an officer to arrive on-scene. Both situations are usually the result of an atypical dispatched call or missing data.

Response time is the amount of time, in minutes, that it takes the first unit to arrive on-scene once the call is placed in the police dispatch queue. Response time has two components:

1. Time in Queue - the amount of time a call waits in the police dispatch queue before a unit is dispatched. Time in Queue is impacted by officer availability and call volume.
2. Travel Time - the time between the first unit dispatch and the time a unit arrives on scene. Travel Time is impacted by the accessibility of locations, street connectivity, and difficult terrain, as well as officer proximity to the location, officer availability, and call volume.

Police call data is sourced from RegJIN. 

The Portland Police Bureau’s Open Data Site (https://www.portland.gov/police/open-data) includes additional data and information on police calls.

Link to interactive dispatched calls for service dashboard and data download: https://www.portland.gov/police/open-data/police-dispatched-calls

Introduction to dispatched calls for service: https://www.portland.gov/police/open-data/police-dispatched-calls#toc-introduction-to-calls-for-service