SALT LAKE CITY — On average, officers with the Salt Lake City Police Department arrived on the scene of the most urgent 911 calls in 9 minutes, 55 seconds in November.
Although that time is still among the slowest in Utah, SLCPD Chief Mike Brown referred to it as "a big success and a big win for our department."
FOX 13 Investigates: Salt Lake City lowers the bar for police response times
In October, a FOX 13 News investigation showed how the department quietly lowered its response time standards.
SLCPD's stated goal for Priority 1 calls used to be five minutes. The goal has since been changed to ten minutes.
The department indicated the public should expect slower response times in 2023 as it continues to deal with staffing shortages.
Brown credited a new mandatory overtime policy for the improved response times in November.
"What we've done over the last four months, we asked our officers - this is the entire department - our detectives, patrol - to take on an additional seven days, ten-hour shifts, of overtime," Brown explained.
The mandatory overtime policy will end in January.
"We'll look at different strategies and plans moving forward," Brown said.