DALLAS (1080 KRLD) - Dallas police are making staffing changes in one part of the city to try to reduce wait times. The department hired the consulting firm, KPMG, to look at crime stats and make recommendations.
KPMG looked at five years of crime statistics from the South Central Division. The consultant recommended several changes to staffing.
"How we deploy our people will help us get to calls quicker, help us be in areas where we're needed," says Dallas Police Maj. Paul Junger.
Junger says KPMG reviewed five years of crime statistics in South Central Division. He says the firm found response times were longest and people spent the most time on hold during shift changes.
KPMG recommended staggering hours so calls did not stack up during shift changes. The consultant also recommended adding more officers during periods that have seen the highest call volume.
"They said, 'Listen, if you redeploy around the demand, you can more efficiently serve the citizens, just by the way you schedule the officers,'" Junger says.
South Central Division started making changes this week.
Junger says the department will measure success by the number of calls waiting to be answered and the length of time people spend waiting. He says the program aims to work with the resources Dallas police already have, without adding more funds or staffing.