Top police officials are bristling at any suggestion there might be a slowdown among the rank and file. 

“We have a lot to do here in New York City to keep New Yorkers safe,” Police Commissioner Dermot Shea told NY1 earlier this month. “That’s exactly what the members of the NYPD continue to plan to do.”

He said they are out performing their jobs heroically each and every day.

But they may be taking longer to do it. 

What You Need To Know

  • Response times for "crimes in progress" this July and August were up 14% compared to the same months last year

  • In June, that response time was up drastically - by 44%

  • Meanwhile, the response time for all NYPD calls in July was down by more than 10%

Exclusive data obtained by NY1 show it's taking officers more time this summer compared to last summer to get to some crime scenes.

Take June of 2019. It took 8 minutes and 31 seconds to get to a crime in progress. This June, it took 12 minutes and 17 seconds. 

NYPD sources say that almost 4-minute jump could be attributed to the protests and looting occurring simultaneously in the wake of the death of George Floyd.

So look at July. It took 8 minutes and 29 seconds in 2019. Last month, it took 9 minutes and 41 seconds. 

As for the beginning of August, in 2019 it took officers 8 minutes and 35 seconds to get to a crime in progress. This year, it took 9 minutes and 47 seconds, more than a minute longer. 

“A minute in policing is a lifetime, when you are wrestling with someone, when you are being robbed, that extra 60 seconds is the difference between an apprehension or even a person’s life,” said Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams when NY1 showed him the new numbers. "I think the police department has to drill down on that and see if something is taking place.”

Adams has questioned whether cops are responding slower — part of a rumor circulating that there is a slowdown in the city. The Public Advocate has requested data from police headquarters to look into it. 

“I think we have to look at all of the data together and have a conversation about what it means and when you combine that with some of the arrests around things like guns,” Public Advocate Jumaane Williams told NY1. “We want to look at that holistically speaking in a longer time frame."

The NYPD did not have an official comment for this story.

While the response time for crimes in progress may be longer, when you examine all of the calls cops respond to, that number is getting smaller this summer. 

In July 2019, it took the NYPD more than 20 minutes on average to respond to all of its 911 calls. This July, it was about 18 minutes.