Study finds Palatka officers spend nearly 60% of time on dispatched calls; consultants recommend phased hires

Dr. Mitch Miller of the University of North Florida presented a staffing analysis to the Palatka City Commission on Dec. 11 that found local officers spend roughly 59% of their on-duty time responding to dispatched calls, a rate the study identifies as high enough to risk burnout and degraded police-community interactions.

The study, performed under a US COPS Office grant and described by Miller as the US COPS Staffing Analysis Model (SAM), combined dispatch-data time measurements with officer interviews and focus groups to avoid assumptions about how officers allocate their time. "We have found the officers spend almost 60% of their time dispatched," Miller said, adding that research and field experience indicate that sustained dispatch allocations above about 50% raise retention and performance risks.

Why it matters: higher dispatched workloads reduce time for proactive community policing, training and administrative duties. Miller said the internationally used benchmark is roughly 33% dispatched workload; the consultants recommended a realistic target of 40% for Palatka and modeled hiring scenarios accordingly. "At 40% workload and assuming modest population growth, you would need about 10 hires (roughly two a year over five years)," Miller said, while noting shorter-term needs of 1–2 officers immediately depending on the tolerance for dispatched workload.

Commissioners asked about the study's methods and the types of calls driving time-on-task. Miller said the analysis uses agency dispatch timestamps (call-out and clear) and supplements that data with officer surveys and focus groups to capture non-dispatch duties and shift-relief adjustments. He identified domestic violence responses, Baker Act mental-health transports and fatal crashes as particularly time-consuming incident types.

Palatka police staff noted the department recently obtained COPS hiring grant positions that they expect will help shift workload, and the chief explained minimum staffing per shift and how specialty units supplement patrol coverage. Commissioners discussed recruitment, budget implications and whether to phase hires as the report recommends.

Next steps: the commission received the study and will consider budget and hiring options during upcoming budget cycles, taking into account the city's recent COPS hires and attrition assumptions. Miller offered additional technical briefings for staff and commissioners.