The St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office made changes to its patrol map to keep people safe as the county continues to grow.
The original zone map has been around for more than 30 years, with some minor tweaks made along the way.
Sheriff's Office spokesperson Chuck Mulligan said based on the original zones, deputies would sometimes have to drive out of their way to respond to calls.
The Sheriff’s Office got rid of its 15 zones and implemented 30 sub-sectors, which they believe will help them respond to emergencies faster.
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Mulligan said the goal is to get a five-minute or less response time to “Priority 1” calls, which include shootings, burglaries in progress, disturbances and suicide threats.
“We saw that those times are starting to creep up beyond that,” Mulligan said.
The agency said response times had increased to about seven minutes in some areas.
The system went into effect in early January. The Sheriff’s Office said it believes the new patrol map will factor in the growth expected over the next 20 to 30 years.
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