To free up more officers to deal with the most serious crimes, 911 dispatchers will no longer send officers to attend calls deemed less pressing.

 

 

 

Chicago police are no longer responding in person to 911 calls reporting vehicle theft, garage burglary or simple assault in a change aimed at freeing up officers to deal with more serious crimes.

According to a report in the Chicago Sun-Times, the change came into effect on Sunday and also covers crime where the victim is "safe, secure and not in need of medical attention" and the offender is "not on the scene and not expected to return immediately."

Chicago authorities are hoping the change frees up more officers to attend to the most serious crimes, such as serious assaults and murders.

Instead of sending officers, 911 dispatchers have been told to transfer the calls to the Chicago Police Department’s Alternate Response Section, which is staffed by officers on light duty.

In 2012, the Alternate Response Section dealt with 74,000 reports. Victims of crime had the choice of filing a report over the phone or requesting that an officer attend in person when one was available. That number of reports is expected to double, but the choice of asking for an officer to attend will no longer be available.

The change is expected to free up the equivalent of 44 officers a day.

Dispatchers have reportedly been told to transfer calls if "the offender is gone, not expected to 'return immediately' and an officer is not needed for a prompt investigation; an officer on the scene would 'not result in an immediate arrest'; and the victim is safe, secure and not in need of medical attention."

The Sun-Times goes on to quote Chicago Deputy Chief-of-Patrol Steve Georgas, who said police forces throughout the United States are looking for ways to become more efficient.

"This is just a little piece that we think is going to help us in keeping cops up and free for patrol work. I don’t think we're looking for huge gains. It's probably only going to equate to 40 to 45 officers a watch," he said.

Georgas added that he did not think the change will be difficult for residents to get used to.

"It's a traumatic thing being the victim of a crime. This will be a little more convenient for them as well," he said. "They're still getting police service from a sworn police officer. But it's over the phone, and it's only in certain situations. Those officers are trained in what to ask. If certain things come up, they'll be able to transfer that back over to dispatch, and we'll immediately send an officer out."

However, some Chicago aldermen suggested the changes will prove difficult to accept for crime victims.

"I can understand if it's [to report] somebody spray-painted my trash can. But people want to see an officer when it gets up to a certain level of crime. They're setting the bar pretty high for police not to respond," said Alderman Scott Waguespack.

"When you're talking about someone's garage being broken into and you've had three or four neighbors with the same thing, people have an expectation of having an officer on location to assess the situation," he said. "If no officer shows up, they're going to assume it's going to keep happening. They'll feel this is scaling back even more. There'll be a lot of people angry."

And now, people will realize that the police aren't there to protect them.

Hmm, I wonder if they'll still be writing tickets. I mean is 5 over more or less serious an offense than beating the crap out of someone?

If I were a Chicagoan, my new emergency number would be 1911 not 911.

Hmm, I wonder if they'll still be writing tickets. I mean is 5 over more or less serious an offense than beating the crap out of someone?

 

There is no money in real crime so I'm sure they will be.

This reminds me of an old joke:

 

Subject: "What to do if 911 is busy"

 

As I was getting into bed the other night, my wife told me I had left the light on in the garage. She could see light coming through the bedroom window. As I got up to shut the curtain (rather than go outside to shut off the stupid light), I saw there were 2 guys taking things from my garage. I immediately called 911, but was told that they didn't have anyone "in the area at this time," but would send someone over as soon as possible. I said OK, hung up, and waited one minute. Then I called 911 again. I said, "I called you a minute ago because there was someone in my garage. Well, you don't have to worry about that now because I just shot them."

 

Within two minutes there were 3 cruisers in front of my house, a SWAT van

and the paramedics.

 

They immediately apprehended the burglars. However, the lieutenant was

really mad & said "I thought you said you'd shot them!"

 

I replied, "I thought you said there was nobody available."

 

-- submitted by Linda R.

Tried telling my girlfriend the truth about this...she wouldn't believe me, even after citing the Supreme

Court case law. Maybe I should actually show her the decision in print.

 

If I were a Chicagoan, my new emergency number would be 1911 not 911.

Totally stealing this!

Let's see how long that rule lasts after the first few heinous incidents are misinterpreted.

 

 

 

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Typos courtesy Apple...