Полиция Албемарл-Кантри расследует разрыв во времени реагирования между городскими и сельскими районами

Albemarle County police examine response time gap between urban and rural areas ALBEMARLE COUNTY, Va. (WVIR) - Albemarle County police are examining how quickly officers respond to the most serious calls, after the county’s latest report showed a difference between urban and rural response times. The SPEAR report is part of the county’s five-year strategic plan and gives a numbers-based look at what is working and where more attention may be needed. The report tracks progress across areas including public safety, affordable housing, economic development, infrastructure, education, climate work and the county workforce. One of the areas the county identifies for improvement is emergency response times. For police, the county set a goal of reaching 100% of priority one calls in rural areas within 10 minutes. The FY26 report shows that happened 51% of the time. In urban areas, the goal is to reach every priority one call within five minutes. The report shows 73% met that target. Maj. Randy Jamerson, deputy chief of police operations, said reaching every call should remain the goal. “I don’t think it’s appropriate that we would say let’s try to meet a goal of 85% of the time during an emergency circumstance,” Jamerson said. “I don’t think that’s the right answer. Why should we not try to meet that goal 100% of the time?” Police say geography is a big part of the challenge. Albemarle County covers more than 700 square miles, while the urban area makes up only about 30. That means an officer may be responding from a more developed part of the county, then have to travel miles on secondary roads to reach a call farther out. “I think it’s important to recognize the geographical areas,” Jamerson said. Jamerson said some of those roads are paved, some are gravel, and officers also have to account for curves, hills, weather and other traffic. He said even on the most serious calls, officers are expected to drive safely and responsibly. “When you look at certain areas of the county, there’s no easy way to get to them,” Jamerson said. “We have major primary roadways that serve as arteries that feed each of the geographic areas respectively, but off of those are secondary roadways. Some are paved, some are gravel.” “We expect that officer to drive safe and responsibly,” Jamerson said. “It’s the old mindset of if we don’t get there, then we don’t do any good.” The department is also looking at the parts of the response time equation it can control. That includes adding officers, reviewing where they are positioned, and making sure resources are placed where they can best serve different parts of the county. “We’ve increased the number of officers,” Jamerson said. “We’ve looked at our resources and we’re making sure we’re aligning them with where they are best suited to serve in the community.” The county also approved a pay raise within the last year as part of its effort to recruit and keep officers. “We will always continue to evaluate and adapt to what the need is at the time,” Jamerson said. The SPEAR report says investments made through the FY25 and FY26 budgets have strengthened staffing for police and fire rescue, and the county says it is beginning to see early signs of improvement as those resources are put in place. The department is also looking at whether simply dividing the county into urban and rural areas tells the whole story. Police are considering more specific categories, including suburban and remote areas, to get a clearer picture of how response times differ across the county. That information could then help the department better understand where officers and other resources are needed. The county says it uses these performance numbers to see where it is meeting its strategic goals, where it is not, and where money, staffing or other resources may need to shift as the five-year plan continues. Do you have a story idea? Send us your news tip here. Copyright 2026 WVIR. All rights reserved.