With police calls averaging about 345 a day in 2016, the response time is paramount to the people of Pueblo. The city needs to expedite, to the extent possible, increasing the number of police officers available to respond to calls for help or from witnesses to crimes in progress.

The city received 126,798 calls for police last year, and an average of 185 officers were on staff to respond, spread over various work shifts.

Deputy Police Chief Troy Davenport suggested police calls may have increased with the prevalent use of cellphones in recent years.

People who see dangerous or criminal behavior while driving in highway traffic, for instance, now can make an instant cellphone call to alert authorities. Lending credence to this is the fact that the volume of police calls peaks during the afternoon, at 2 p.m., these days while the fewest calls come in at 4 or 5 o’clock in the morning.

Read more at The Pueblo Chieftain.