What Sacramentans want from police

Sacramentans expect a police dispatcher to pick up a 911 call in less than 10 seconds and a police officer to respond to an emergency in less than five minutes, preliminary results of a new survey show.

Compare that to the current level of service: 11 seconds for a 911 call and almost eight minutes for an emergency or violent crime response.

The discrepancy is greater for non-emergency 911 calls and nonviolent crime responses.

"These are reasonable expectations," Chief Rick Braziel said during a recent public safety meeting at Theodore Judah Elementary School on McKinley Boulevard.

Police and fire officials will host more than a dozen such meetings at schools and community centers throughout the city to talk about long-range planning for fire protection and law enforcement services.

Assistant City Manager Gustavo Vina said the city is exploring ways to increase funding for public safety to meet expectations.

"Do we want to get to that level? Yes. Can we afford to get to that level? That is the question," Vina said.

The survey also asks participants how many days it should take to receive a copy of a crime report and what percentage of property crime cases should the department investigate.

The answers will help the department develop its master plan, police officials said.

Braziel said the next step is to ask the public to prioritize the different areas of service listed on the survey so city officials can determine how to allocate resources.

Department officials say narrowing the gap of response times is not an unrealistic goal – if $50 million more is pumped into the department to provide the level of service the public wants.

That would pay for 32 dispatchers, four dispatch supervisors, 25 community service officers, 167 police officers and five lieutenants needed to meet the community's expectations, department spokesman Sgt. Matt Young said.

Community service officers help to investigate property crimes, and other support staff members process arrest paperwork, maintain records and evidence, and manage equipment and systems.

But the wish list crashes against what's estimated to be a $58 million shortfall in the city budget for the coming fiscal year. Deep service cuts and layoffs are being considered.

The Police Department posted the "customer service" survey – its first – on its Web site and handed it out during community meetings in February. The department compiled 871 responses, and Braziel said the survey will continue to grow as long as residents continue to respond to it.

"What Chief Braziel is attempting to do is create a department that meets the expectations of the Sacramento community," said Detective Mark Tyndale, vice president of the Sacramento Police Officers Association.

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