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REPORT RAPPORT |
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REPORT RAPPORT |
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DATE: |
20 April 2010 |
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TO/DEST: |
Executive Director, Ottawa Police Services Board |
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FROM/EXP: |
Chief of Police, Ottawa Police Service |
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SUBJECT/OBJET: |
PERFORMANCE REPORT
– FIRST QUARTER 2010 |
The Ottawa Police Service (OPS) monitors and evaluates information on a variety of performance metrics. The Police Service also contributes data to a number of local and provincial initiatives, including the Ontario Municipal Benchmarking Initiative (OMBI) and the Municipal Performance Measurement Project (MPMP). As part of a cooperative effort in sharing performance data, performance indicators are first presented to the Board then forwarded to the City of Ottawa for inclusion in its Quarterly Performance Reports.
DISCUSSION
As part of our commitment to measuring performance, the Ottawa Police continues to work with the City by providing selected metrics to be included in the quarterly performance reporting framework, including:
§ Total calls for police service;
§ Emergency response calls for service (Priority 1);
§ Response performance on Priority 1 calls (on-scene within 15 minutes, 90 percent of the time);
§ Service time (citizen-initiated, mobile response calls); and,
§ Number of Criminal Code Offences per sworn officer.
This information has been regularly provided to the City’s Performance Measurement Branch. The measures are also included in the annual OMBI report and as part of the performance measurement framework launched in 2008. First quarter metrics are now presented to the Board prior to being compiled with other city data for Council.
Total Calls for Service – All Priorities
In the past five years the Ottawa Police handled an average of 366,000 calls annually. After reaching peak call volumes in 2007, the number of calls returned to historical levels in 2008. Results for the first quarter reveal that the number of calls increased by five percent from the same period last year to 87,711.
Emergency Calls for Service
(Priority 1)
After falling by 11 percent in 2005, Priority 1
call volume has risen for the past four consecutive years to 76,070 calls citywide
in 2009. In the first quarter,
emergency calls requiring an immediate on-scene police presence continue to follow
a seasonal pattern, growing by five percent to 16,225 citywide. Across the City of Ottawa, all three
Divisions have shown an increase in emergency call volume in the first quarter.
West Division exhibits the largest increase (6%) in Priority 1 calls, followed
by Central Division (5%), and East Division (3%).
The Ottawa Police aims to respond to Priority 1 calls for service within 15 minutes 90 percent of the time, citywide. For the past four years response performance has fluctuated between 87 to 90 percent. Call volume, travel time, and available resources most influence police response.
In the first quarter, response performance remained relatively constant from the same period last year at nearly 89 percent. The organization’s inability to reach the 90 percent response benchmark consistently may be due to the fact that the police service has reached an operational maximum under the current schedule, call response protocol, staffing levels, and call volumes.
Service Time
(Citizen-Initiated, Mobile Response Calls for Service)
Service Time refers to the
cumulative amount of time, in hours, officers spend
responding to and dealing with calls for service from the public. Service Time is used for operational
planning and deployment of personnel.
Seasonally, reactive workload is lower in the winter months with variations in climate influencing call volume and criminal behaviour. Compared to the same period last year, service time for the first quarter rose by five percent, the partial result of an increase in calls for service.
Number of Criminal
Code Offences Handled per Police Officer
The number of reported Criminal Code of Canada incidents prorated over the number of sworn personnel is one indication of workload. This, of course, does not capture the entire scope of police operations, including proactive initiatives, assistance to victims of crime, traffic enforcement/Highway Traffic Act violations, street checks, and other community and public safety activities.
Since 2005, the total number of Non-Traffic, Criminal Code of Canada offences has declined by more than 13 percent, while the number of authorized sworn officers has increased by 105, resulting in fewer offences handled per officer. In 2009, the number of Criminal Code offences fell by 1,300, or three percent.
In the first quarter, the number of Criminal Code offences per officer fell by four percent from the same period in 2009.
The full 2009 Crime, Police, and Traffic Statistics report will be presented to the Board and released to the public in May 2010. The Board will continue to receive quarterly performance updates as part of the performance measurement framework contained in the 2010-2012 Business Plan. In addition, Ottawa Police representatives will continue to serve on the OMBI Police Expert Panel, the national Police Information and Statistics (POLIS) Committee, and other venues that contribute to the ongoing discussion, improvement, and transparency of police performance measures.
(original signed by)
Vern White
Chief of Police
This document contains information that reports on
activities related to the Ottawa Police Business Plan.
