Durham police slower responding to emergency calls than authorities want

The Durham Police Department isn't meeting its target for response times to serious incidents, according to statistics the City Council is expected to review Thursday.

Posted 8:10 p.m. Sep 22, 2021 — Updated 10:27 p.m. Sep 22, 2021

Sarah Krueger

, WRAL Durham reporter

DURHAM, N.C. — The Durham Police Department isn't meeting its target for response times to serious incidents, according to statistics the City Council is expected to review Thursday.

The goal is to respond to 57 percent of "Priority 1" calls in less than five minutes, but in the first six months of 2021, less than 52 percent of calls met that mark.

A Priority 1 call includes crimes in progress and life-threatening emergencies, such as a serious crash.

According to the police department's latest quarterly report, the average response time to such calls from Jan. 1 through June 30 was 6 minutes, 6 seconds. That's 18 seconds slower than the target average of 5 minutes, 48 seconds.

"Seconds matter in life-threatening situations," said Larry Smith, a retired deputy police chief who now serves as the spokesman for the Durham Fraternal Order of Police, which represents officers.

Officers' reps say Durham understates police department vacancies

Smith blames inadequate staffing for the slower response times. The latest numbers from the department show 15 percent of its sworn officer positions are vacant.

"Your staffing levels are going to directly affect how many officers are in patrol cars responding to calls," he said. "When you think about a call like the double homicide that recently happened over at N.C. Central [University], that’s a staffing drain. You’ve got a lot of cars that are going to be on that scene. While that is happening, you still have other Priority 1 calls coming in."

One of those vacant positions is Durham's police chief. City officials previously said they would announce finalists for the position by the end of September, but they didn't respond to WRAL News requests this week for an update on that timeline.

Smith said he hopes a new chief will help bring in more officers, citing a lack of support from Durham officials as the major reason, other than pay, that the department can't attract enough officers.

"I feel like the police department is doing what it can," he said. "There are some things right now that are just outside the control of the police department. The leadership, the rank-and-file, they are doing the best they can."

Mayor Steve Schewel said police officers and other Durham employees this year received "the largest total pay increases" in 10 years as part of the city's 2021-22 budget, including raises, bonuses and a second bonus for frontline workers, including officers.

"This is great support for our police," Schewel said.

Anti-violence advocate Sheryl Smith said she also believes Durham needs to expand its police ranks.

"Lately, we have more shootings than we’ve had in our community in over 10 years," Smith said. "Every second counts when it’s dealing with somebody’s life."

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