多年来，彩宝网平台的许多客户都认为，如果他们在危机中拨打911电话, local police will respond immediately — or at least “within a few minutes.对于那些居住在大城市的家庭来说，这种假设尤其正确，大城市的警察部门分布在不是特别偏远或难以到达的地方.
Fair assumption, right? Nope. Not anymore.
Police response times are getting worse across the US.
Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, response times for law enforcement agencies have worsened. Take Philadelphia, for example. In 2021, 警察的平均反应时间增加了20%以上——从18分钟增加到近22分钟. That’s certainly better, though than in Kansas City, Missouri. When Mark Miller, a local resident suffered a series of burglaries, 他打电话给警方，得到的回应是:“你现在有4个小时的时间让警察做出回应.” Miller was shocked. “然后，(警官)说，‘说实话，(彩宝网平台县)不在乎入室盗窃.’” This vignette would not have surprised Columbus resident Teaira Gamble. When another driver crashed into her car at 12:58 p.m. 在一个夏天，她和其他目击者在接下来的三天里打了8个911电话.5 hours before police showed up.
What factors are driving this trend?
There are several. The most common include budget cuts particularly for overtime, rising crime levels, 在许多警察选择提前退休或完全离开这个职业的时候，越来越多的警察请病假和长期人员短缺. At the same time, 考虑到全国各地对警察的批评，潜在的新警官正在三思而后行.
COVID is also to blame. For example, LAPD officers in large numbers are refusing to get vaccinated, sparking controversy. In the first week of January 2022, 超过500名洛杉矶警察和其他警察部门人员因COVID-19生病,600+ have sought a vaccine exemption). 欧米克隆变种曾使警官和洛杉矶消防部门的工作人员一次请病假数周.
Families need to be prepared for delayed police responses
彩宝网平台一直在帮助彩宝网平台的客户思考这种新的反应环境对他们的安全和保障意味着什么——以及他们大家庭的安全, such as adult children, or even college-age kids living on their own. In fact, 许多人选择聘请私人保安人员进行全职保护——无论这些人是雇员还是合同保安. Because so many households are now affected, 彩宝网平台觉得在博客上公开分享彩宝网平台的指导会很有帮助，这可能会帮助到彩宝网平台直接“护理圈”之外的其他人.”
Understanding the first responder environment
重要的是要了解警察和紧急调度员的优先级，以管理响应时间的预期.
First, let’s look at how 911 calls are prioritized. Officer response time is based on four important factors:
1. The priority of the emergency (i.e., high, medium, or low)
2. The number of other high-priority calls coming in at the same time
3. The number of officers currently on duty
4. The number of officers needed per call
Next, let’s evaluate what police departments consider a priority emergency. Anything that is in progress or life-threatening takes precedence. For example, 正在进行的入室盗窃比当天早些时候发生的入室盗窃更重要. A trespasser in the yard, while unnerving, but not threatening anyone or trying to enter a residence, may not be a high priority. A minor car accident with no serious injuries may not prompt any response at all (as Teiara Gamble discovered); the dispatcher will likely tell the drivers to file an electronic report (as the Kansas City officer advised Mark Miller to do) and let their insurance companies fight it out.
Now, consider response times. 截至2021年3月，芝加哥对高优先级呼叫的最佳响应时间为3小时.46 minutes. 洛杉矶被认为是总体平均响应时间最好的主要都会区, with an average response time of 5.7 minutes. 西雅图警察局平均需要7分钟来响应一个优先级电话，而响应低收入者的电话则需要更长时间, majority nonwhite neighborhoods or to domestic violence calls.
4 steps families can take to prepare for slow police response times
Start off by assuming that police won’t be there for 20 minutes, not five. Now take the following actions.
1. Create a Family Emergency Plan. Prioritize planning, forethought and preparation. 想清楚你希望你的家人如何应对诸如火灾之类的紧急情况, medical incidents and accidents, natural disasters, civil disturbances on a city or neighborhood level, pandemics and health crises, and sustained loss of utility services such as power, internet access and wireless phone service. 还要为不太可能发生但后果更严重的事件做好准备，比如入室盗窃, a nearby act of terror, 以及与重大化学品泄漏或爆炸有关的故意或意外事件.
2. Update and improve your home’s physical security. Determine a place in the house where you, 你的配偶和孩子可以在一定程度上得到安全保障. Ideally, 建立一个安全房间或指定一个房间作为安全房间，并加强它，以保证你的安全，直到警察到达. 这是一个很好的时机来处理许多与物理安全相关的优先事项，你过去可能没有注意到——从大门和周边安全到照明, 美化环境，甚至是你在家里摆放枪支和弹药的位置和方式.
3. Reassess and upgrade your home’s technical security. Ensure you have effective, well-maintained systems related to perimeter alarms, access control, closed-circuit television monitoring, intrusion detection, fire and life safety, and backup power availability and adequacy.
4. Build relationships with your first responder community. 与当地警察和治安部门联系，帮助他们在911系统中提供任何信息，以便在发生紧急情况时作出反应, 响应人员将配备有助于确保您家人安全的信息.
Prevention is the best approach
In summary, think ahead and act now. 警察的反应时间比平时慢只是你希望家人准备好应对的众多问题之一. 如果你从预防的角度来看待家庭的安全和保障，你会在面对许多威胁时更加冷静和自信, planning and preparedness.
