Demand on Duty

Support your people. Serve your community.

Demand on Duty™ is a time-based police resource modelling tool that helps leaders understand the gap between scheduled staffing and actual deployable capacity. It analyzes real workload, availability, and demand patterns to align resources with when and where they’re needed most. The result is clear, evidence-based insight to support defensible staffing decisions, reduce overtime reliance, and protect officer wellbeing.

Time-Based Police Resource Modelling for defensible police staffing decisions

Move beyond population-based assumptions and high-level crime statistics. Demand on Duty™ helps you understand real workload and capacity, identify peak demand, and align resources with when and where calls occur, so you can make confident, evidence-based staffing decisions.

Demand on Duty™ supports police leaders to balance community expectations with sustainable workloads and officer wellbeing.

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Modern policing requires accountable, evidence-based staffing decisions

Police services are operating under increasing pressure:

Rising expectations for response times and service levels
Overtime pressure, leave impacts, retention and recruitment constraints
The need to protect proactive policing while maintaining call response levels
Increased scrutiny from staff, boards, councils, and the public

Leaders are expected to demonstrate that staffing decisions are fair, transparent, and aligned with service expectations, while maintaining workforce sustainability.

What Demand on Duty^TM enables: A clear, operationally grounded view of demand, capacity, and performance so leaders can explain staffing needs and trade-offs with confidence.

A 12-hour shift does not equal 12 hours of deployable policing time

Traditional models assume scheduled hours equal frontline capacity. In reality, that time is reduced by:

Briefings and training
Breaks and meetings
Supervision and administrative work
Court time and reporting
Leave, sick time, and real-time availability impacts

In practice, a 12-hour shift often translates to significantly less deployable time.

“Overwork and not enough time for proper rest and family takes a real toll on officer wellbeing, not to mention the budgetary implications of overtime.”
~ Sunny Parmar (MOM, MSc., Supt. RCMP (Ret)

Why this matters to leaders: When demand exceeds deployable capacity, overtime becomes the default pressure valve, which affects budgets, wellness, and the ability to deliver proactive policing.

The questions leaders are asked, but legacy models cannot answer

Traditional approaches often cannot answer critical operational questions like:

Where is overtime being generated, and what would sustainably reduce it: staffing, watch design, or policy changes?
How do we explain resourcing needs clearly to staff, boards, councils, and ministries?
What is our true deployable capacity today, this week, and this quarter?
Are we missing targets because of structural workload imbalance or short-term availability shocks?
What does it actually take to meet priority response-time targets without eroding proactive policing?

“In a typical day, going from call to call, you might just be meeting your target response times, but that doesn’t account for the follow-up time required for calls or the proactive work that we know is so important for community safety and is highly valued by the community and our membership.”

“When there’s no time to get everything done, that work shifts to the next day, or you just have to stay late and do admin work and sacrifice work-life balance.”
~ Galib Bhayani (MOM, MSM, C/Supt. RCMP (Ret)

Demand on Duty turns demand, availability, and targets into decision-ready insight

Demand on Duty™ is Deetken’s Time-Based Police Resource Modelling approach that helps you:

Make staffing decisions that are transparent, defensible, and measurable
Understand real workload and how it changes over time
Identify peak demand periods and service pressures
Align staffing with when and where demand occurs
Balance reactive demand with proactive policing

Outcome: Staffing decisions that are transparent, defensible, and tied to service expectations.

How it works: from data to defensible decisions

A simple, practical approach built for real policing operations:

1. Start with your data
We bring together your staffing information, call activity, and service targets to create a complete picture of how your service is operating today.

2. See real capacity
We account for everything that affects availability – time spent on calls, paperwork, training, leave, and other real-world factors – so you can see how much frontline capacity you truly have.

3. Validate with your team
Operations officers and frontline leaders confirm that what the data shows reflects what is happening on the ground.

4. Compare demand & capacity
We map when and where demand occurs, identify peak periods and locations, and highlight gaps where workload exceeds available resources.

5. Test scenarios
Explore response targets, overtime, and proactive time. Understand trade-offs and see the impact of different decisions before acting.

6. Make defensible decisions
Turn insight into clear, evidence-based decisions you can confidently communicate to leadership, boards, and the community.

What changes with Demand on Duty™

Make staffing decisions with confidence using clear, measurable data
Reduce overtime pressure by identifying structural workload gaps
Protect proactive policing time while meeting response expectations
Improve response performance by aligning staffing to peak demand
Clearly communicate needs and trade-offs to boards, councils, and the public

“It’s so important for police leaders today to be able to clearly demonstrate the real implications of staffing decisions when seeking budget approval from boards and councils. When the community expects specific response times or proactive policing targets, being able to clearly articulate the resourcing required to meet those targets is imperative.” ~ Galib Bhayani (MOM, MSM, C/Supt. RCMP (Ret)

Deetken Policing Consulting Services: from model design to adoption

Deetken supports implementation from analysis to real-world application:

Measure actual workload, including time, variability, and call distribution
Analyze service patterns to understand delays and peak demand
Design effective deployment models across time, geography, and priorities
Link insights to workforce planning, budgeting, and operational strategy

To learn more about how Deetken’s expert advisory supports policing and public safety organizations, visit Policing Consulting Services.

Make the right data-driven decisions, faster and with confidence

Demand on Duty™ helps you:

Strengthen accountability and transparency
Justify staffing and budget requests with evidence
Reduce reliance on overtime
Improve service performance
Protect workforce wellbeing

Demand on Duty | Features & Functionality

Deetken’s Demand on Duty^TM is built for command staff, operations, and oversight reporting:

Operational visibility (capacity you can trust)

Understand true deployable time – not just scheduled hours
Track availability impacts such as leave, training, and absences
View performance across daily, weekly, monthly, and annual timelines

Performance and service-level management

Set response-time goals and understand staffing required to meet them
Identify peak demand periods and adjust staffing accordingly
Understand where delays occur and what is driving them

Deployment and planning

Support deployment decisions across time and geography
Align staffing with call load, priorities, and community needs
Assess capacity for proactive policing

Budgeting and workforce planning

Quantify overtime and model trade-offs (e.g., overtime vs hiring)
Build defensible staffing and budget models
Support recruitment and retention planning

Governance-ready outputs (council/board)

Clear, easy-to-understand reporting for boards and councils
Transparent link between staffing decisions and service outcomes

Built for your context

Adapted to your local policies, agreements, and operating environment
Reflects real-world constraints such as shift structures and staffing rules

Generous Paid Vacation

Deetken values work-life balance and flexibility because we know we all work best when we have had time to recharge. That’s why we offer 4 weeks paid vacation time plus 1 week paid time off during the winter holidays for all new hires.

Flexible Work Arrangements

We offer hybrid working options that allow team members to work from home when necessary.

Collaborative and Fun Work Environment

We hold regular social events – both in-person and virtual – so you can bond and connect with your colleagues outside of work.

Individualized & Accelerated Career Growth

We invest in helping you grow your career at Deetken by providing clear role expectations, formal performance reviews every 6 months and personalized professional development plans that are aligned to your personal and professional goals.

We’re Growing!

We now have an office in Victoria, BC, and are serving clients in Alberta, Ontario and Los Angeles, CA. We have grown more than 50% since 2019 (pre-COVID). We are always looking for qualified candidates to join our team.

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Ready to move from assumptions to defensible staffing decisions?

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Complete the form below to speak with one of our policing consulting advisors and book a demo.