The Police Department's analysis of 246,498 911 calls in Boston in 2005 shows that residents in Roxbury waited a median of 15 minutes for police to respond, three minutes longer than the citywide median of 12 minutes. This year so far, the department's analysis of 226,213 calls shows that people in Roxbury have waited two minutes longer, or 14 minutes, than the citywide median, which remained at 12 minutes.

Deputy Superintendent Kenneth Fong, who runs the 911 dispatch center at police headquarters, said that the department could decrease response times in Roxbury by transferring patrol officers from districts with faster response times, such as South Boston, Allston/Brighton, or West Roxbury. But he said such a move would increase response times in the other districts, something he and [Robert Dunford] said could be politically untenable.

While the city added a small number of patrol officers last year, Roxbury lost one officer, after retirement and other losses were taken into account. The districts that cover South Boston, West Roxbury, Roslindale, Beacon Hill, and downtown Boston gained 20 officers, more than all the other districts combined.