❓ Ms. Farrer asks about call volumes and police response times for priority incidents in three remote communities served by the Dampier Peninsula Multi-Function Police Facility. The answer reveals data collection issues and communication challenges impacting response time accuracy.
AnsweredQoN 1609Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
I refer to the Dampier Peninsula Multi-Function Police Facility located at Lombadina Community and ask, for each of the 2010-2011, 2011-2012 and 2012-2013 financial years: (a) how many calls for assistance were received by the facility from: (i) Beagle Bay Community; (ii) Ardyaloon Community; and (iii) Djarindjin Community; (b) what proportion of calls for assistance received by the facility are designated priority 1 or 2 from: (i) Beagle Bay Community; (ii) Ardyaloon Community; and (iii) Djarindjin Community; (c) for calls designated priority 1 or 2, what is the average time from when police are notified of an incident to when police arrive on site to the incident in: (i) Beagle Bay Community; (ii) Ardyaloon Community; and (iii) Djarindjin Community; and (d) for calls designated priority 3, what is the average time from when police are notified of an incident to when police arrive on site to the incident in: (i) Beagle Bay community; (ii) Ardyaloon Community; and (iii) Djarindjin Community?
AnswerView source ↗
Answered
18 February 2014
Responded by
Minister for Police
Response time
76 days
(a) Incidents recorded from:
2010-11
2011-12
2012-13
(i) Beagle Bay Community
75
71
70
(ii) Ardyaloon Community
66
75
90
(iii) Djarindjin & Lombadina Community
63
52
130
(b) Priority 1 or 2
2010-11
2011-12
2012-13
(i) Beagle Bay Community
0
3
2
(ii) Ardyaloon Community
1
2
6
(iii) Djarindjin & Lombadina Community
0
5
4
Note
Requests for assistance that came through the Dampier MFPF were historically not recorded on the Computer Aided Despatch (CAD) system. However, in the latter half of 2012, new management practices were implemented and the Dampier MFPF is now required to record all of the requests for police assistance/attendance on the CAD system. This provides a more accurate record of the number of incidents.
(c) Priority 1 or 2, average response time
1
2010-11
2011-12
2012-13
(i) Beagle Bay Community
n/a
71:57 mins
39:16 mins
(ii) Ardyaloon Community
27:55 mins
No data
9:33 mins
(iii) Djarindjin & Lombadina Community
2
n/a
97:51 mins
320 mins
3
(d) Priority 3, average response time
1
2010-11
2011-12
2012-13
(i) Beagle Bay Community
53:53 mins
133:17 mins
381:24 mins
(ii) Ardyaloon Community
37:46 mins
60:06 mins
39:06 mins
(iii) Djarindjin & Lombadina Community
75:31 mins
64:20 mins
114:07 mins
Notes
1) Western Australia Police calculates response times for incidents on the basis of the dispatch and arrival times recorded on the Computer Aided Despatch (CAD) system. In remote locations CAD is reliant on the mobile phone network to transfer data and, as the network can be unreliable and the service intermittent, the response times recorded in CAD may not reflect actual response times.
As a result of the above communications difficulties it is not always possible to calculate an accurate average response time for the specified communities. As such, in certain circumstances there may be no data available, and where appropriate a response of 'no data' has been provided (where there have been no incidents of a specific type the response is recorded as 'n/a').
While communications will continue to be problematic due to the remoteness of the Dampier MFPF, the Kimberley District Office regularly audit the Dampier MFPF and are satisfied the response times are appropriate considering all the circumstances.
2) In respect of the average response time for Priority 1 or 2 incidents in the Djarindjin & Lombadina Communities in 2012-13, it should be noted that while a figure has been provided, it does not accurately reflect the actual average response time for that community. The average provided is simply a record of the available data in CAD.
3) In this case, communication difficulties prevented response times being recorded for 3 out of the 4 Priority 1 or 2 incidents that occurred in 2012-13. Where no arrival time is received by CAD, the system automatically enters a default response time of 320 minutes. This default figure cannot be changed or revised once entered in CAD. However, analysis of the Incident Reports indicates each of these four incidents was attended within 15 to 45 minutes.
It is further noted that, as all incidents occurred outside rostered hours of duty, the officers were required to be recalled to duty from home and this would have further delayed attendance.
2010-11
2011-12
2012-13
(i) Beagle Bay Community
75
71
70
(ii) Ardyaloon Community
66
75
90
(iii) Djarindjin & Lombadina Community
63
52
130
(b) Priority 1 or 2
2010-11
2011-12
2012-13
(i) Beagle Bay Community
0
3
2
(ii) Ardyaloon Community
1
2
6
(iii) Djarindjin & Lombadina Community
0
5
4
Note
Requests for assistance that came through the Dampier MFPF were historically not recorded on the Computer Aided Despatch (CAD) system. However, in the latter half of 2012, new management practices were implemented and the Dampier MFPF is now required to record all of the requests for police assistance/attendance on the CAD system. This provides a more accurate record of the number of incidents.
(c) Priority 1 or 2, average response time
1
2010-11
2011-12
2012-13
(i) Beagle Bay Community
n/a
71:57 mins
39:16 mins
(ii) Ardyaloon Community
27:55 mins
No data
9:33 mins
(iii) Djarindjin & Lombadina Community
2
n/a
97:51 mins
320 mins
3
(d) Priority 3, average response time
1
2010-11
2011-12
2012-13
(i) Beagle Bay Community
53:53 mins
133:17 mins
381:24 mins
(ii) Ardyaloon Community
37:46 mins
60:06 mins
39:06 mins
(iii) Djarindjin & Lombadina Community
75:31 mins
64:20 mins
114:07 mins
Notes
1) Western Australia Police calculates response times for incidents on the basis of the dispatch and arrival times recorded on the Computer Aided Despatch (CAD) system. In remote locations CAD is reliant on the mobile phone network to transfer data and, as the network can be unreliable and the service intermittent, the response times recorded in CAD may not reflect actual response times.
As a result of the above communications difficulties it is not always possible to calculate an accurate average response time for the specified communities. As such, in certain circumstances there may be no data available, and where appropriate a response of 'no data' has been provided (where there have been no incidents of a specific type the response is recorded as 'n/a').
While communications will continue to be problematic due to the remoteness of the Dampier MFPF, the Kimberley District Office regularly audit the Dampier MFPF and are satisfied the response times are appropriate considering all the circumstances.
2) In respect of the average response time for Priority 1 or 2 incidents in the Djarindjin & Lombadina Communities in 2012-13, it should be noted that while a figure has been provided, it does not accurately reflect the actual average response time for that community. The average provided is simply a record of the available data in CAD.
3) In this case, communication difficulties prevented response times being recorded for 3 out of the 4 Priority 1 or 2 incidents that occurred in 2012-13. Where no arrival time is received by CAD, the system automatically enters a default response time of 320 minutes. This default figure cannot be changed or revised once entered in CAD. However, analysis of the Incident Reports indicates each of these four incidents was attended within 15 to 45 minutes.
It is further noted that, as all incidents occurred outside rostered hours of duty, the officers were required to be recalled to duty from home and this would have further delayed attendance.
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