Nov 13, 2009 7:30 pm US/Central
Too Many 911 Calls, Or Not Enough Cops?
Two Victimized Residents Tell 2 Investigator Pam Zekman They're Angered By Slow Response Time
CHICAGO (CBS) ―
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Two victimized residents say it took too long for police to respond to their 911 calls; a top official blames a flood of less-serious calls.
CBS
There's a huge shortage of police officers in Chicago. The city is down by as many as 2,000 every day.
But just what impact is that having on the streets? 2 Investigator Pam Zekman reports on what can happen when you call for help.
Officially, the department refuses to disclose how many officers are actually patrolling the streets, saying that would be like giving troop strengths to the enemy. But apparently there aren't enough.
It was late at night when armed robbers approached Brian Williams. An assailant pointed the gun at his head and pulled the trigger.
"It didn't go off, and then they ran," he said.
Calvin Allen was robbed while waiting at a bus stop at 76th and Racine.
"He announced 'This is a robbery' and he said, 'Let's take a walk,'" Allen recalled.
Both Willams and Allen were recently robbed at gunpoint in the volatile 6th Police District on the south side. Both men also called 9-1-1 for help.
"They said they would send a car out right away," Allen said.
But no one arrived and Allen called 911 again. Records obtained by the 2 Investigators show that a car was not assigned until 26 minutes after his first call. By then, he had flagged down other officers in the area.
"I'm appalled, and I'm very angry about that," Allen said.
Brian Williams had to wait 1 hour and 36 minutes for a police car to respond to his armed-robbery report.
"The police is not doing their job over here, and we need more help," he said.
Police records show that on the nights that both men called, all of the patrol cars in the 6th District were busy responding to other calls.
"Unfortunately, the 6th District is one of the highest-crime districts in the city," District Police Commander Eddie Johnson said.
He said crimes in progress come first.
A police union official expressed concern about the sometimes slow response to 911 calls.
"Whether it's an emergency call or a routine call, if the bodies aren't there to respond to the calls, that's when the people should really be concerned," Mark Donahue, President of the Chicago Fraternal Order of Police, said.
Chicago Police Superintendent Jody Weis said he's aware of the issue.
"Well, I'm not losing sleep at night, but I say I'm nervous because we track it every day," he said.
Weis says people flood 911 with non-emergency calls.
"If we could get to the point where we reduce our number of responses to 911, it would be like making our police force bigger," he said.
The explanation doesn't sit well with Allen.
Police "have a big sign on the side of their car 'To protect and serve' -- who are you protecting and serving?" he said.
Police staffing levels could be getting even worse. As many as 1,000 current officers could take early retirement next year. That would put the department down about 3,000 people.
The Chicago police maintain that their 60 percent to 70 percent response rate to 911 calls is one of the best in the country.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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