YOUNGSTOWN Chief makes operation changes to improve police response time

The police chief doesn't want another late response to a critical call for help.
By PATRICIA MEADE
VINDICATOR CRIME REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Winds of change blew through the Youngstown Police Department on Thursday night.
Gone is the traditional roll call, a 15-to-20-minute segment at the beginning of each shift used to tell officers what crimes occurred before their tour of duty and what to look for while they're out patrolling the streets.
Officers will now be given the hot sheet and if the turn supervisor has anything further, he can communicate it by radio or out on the beats, said Police Chief Robert E. Bush Jr.
Soon, when all the new onboard computers are operational, up-to-the-minute messages can be sent to the cruisers electronically, he said.
Criminal activity report
The hot sheet is a 24-hour report of criminal activity in the city that lists arrests, burglaries, felonious assaults, stolen cars, robberies and so forth. It is issued to the chief and supervisors by 7 a.m. each day.
Bush said eliminating roll call eliminates down time during shift changes. He said he'll have to wait and see "how it works without roll call."
The chief said a meeting Thursday night with captains who supervise the morning, afternoon and night turns was called to explain significant changes he believes will improve coverage of the city, radio dispatching procedures and response time.
Delayed response
The changes were prompted by a delayed police response to an armed robbery call on East Philadelphia Avenue last weekend. It took officers 46 minutes from the time of the first 911 call to arrive at the victim's home.
"We're better than that," Bush said. "I apologized to the victim and I apologize to the citizens."
He said an investigation by the internal affairs division will result in discipline, but he declined to pinpoint who will be punished. Those involved are 911 call-takers, two radio dispatchers and two officers who answered the call.
The chief said he has received calls from residents -- since the delayed call made news -- who perceive a shortage of officers during shift change and others who perceive the city has a staffing shortage. The cruisers, he said are staffed appropriately.
Scheduling changes
Bush said scheduling is being rearranged to put more officers on duty for Friday and Saturday, traditionally the busiest days. Some officers, he said, abuse the use of accumulated time for days off, and he wants to put a stop to the practice.
Radio dispatching procedures are being reviewed with the idea of implementing more training where needed and reinforcing the role of the dispatcher. Bush said the dispatcher, a police officer, doesn't request that cars respond to calls, he orders them and has the authority to redirect them from nonemergency calls to priority calls.
Forms to be signed by supervisors will now be used to explain delayed response time, the chief said. If, for example, an officer is diverted from a nonemergency call to back up other officers at a robbery call, the form will allow the supervisor to explain why one call wasn't covered, he said.
The dispatcher, he said, also has the right to ask officers about the status of a call. "We have to reiterate that to the dispatchers, and the sergeants, lieutenants and captains have to support the dispatcher's position of authority," he said.
Tracking calls
As a way of better tracking calls in progress, Bush had a few changes made to the information fields displayed on TV computer monitors set up in his and the turn supervisor's offices. The monitors, which display calls in progress, now show the time as it elapses and show when the calls are completed.
meade@vindy.com