City of Grand Rapids issued the following announcement on Dec. 22.
The City of Grand Rapids today released data that show community sentiment on public safety and the trust residents have in their police department. The feedback is collected through a new digital polling tool that solicits input directly from residents through opt-in surveys on websites, social media applications and other digital platforms.
The effort aligns with the City’s strategic plan and is part of its commitment to strengthening relationships between community members and the Grand Rapids Police Department (GRPD).
The community sentiment data is collected through the Blockwise digital polling tool on the Elucd platform. GRPD is among several police agencies across the U.S. using the new technology – the others include Chicago and New York. Grand Rapids is the first city in the country to commit to releasing the data on a regular basis – a significant step toward strengthening its transparency and trust among community members. GRPD plans to share the community sentiment information quarterly and post it HERE.
"This is a tool to help us better understand our community’s needs and measure trust in our department – something we haven’t been able to do with reliable data in the past,” Grand Rapids Police Chief Eric Payne said. “We can gauge how residents feel about the safety of their neighborhoods and the trust they have in our officers.
“We plan to use this data to get at the root causes of crime in our city and strengthen the community’s trust in us. This, I believe, will lead to stronger community-police relationships and bolster our efforts to ensure all residents feel safe and are safe at all times throughout the community.”
The City collected survey data from residents during a pilot period that ran July 1 to Sept. 30. Questions were based on how residents feel their police department is performing. The questions included:
- When it comes to the threat of crime, how safe do you feel in your neighborhood on a scale of 0 (not safe at all) to 10 (completely safe)?
- Please indicate whether you agree or disagree on a scale of 0 (totally disagree) to 10 (totally agree):
- The police in my neighborhood treat local residents with respect
- The police in my neighborhood listen to and take into account the concerns of local residents
- What is the No. 1 issue or problem on your block or in your neighborhood that you would like the police to deal with? Please be specific.
- The current trust score is 68
- The current safety score is 69
“These preliminary scores affirm our ongoing efforts to strengthen relationships in the community and prevent and reduce crime,” Payne said, pointing to GRPD’s community policing model, Speed of Trust program and Youth Advisory Council, among many other initiatives. “We know we have much more work to do and we look forward to continuing to partner with residents and other community stakeholders.”
Results also show residents are most focused on quality of life issues:
- 22 percent of responses cited streets and traffic-related concerns
- 11 percent mentioned issues related to theft, burglary and break-ins
- Employ interdepartmental data sharing and problem-solving with resident voices to gain a holistic understanding of situations taking place within our community
- Create a process to gauge, enhance community perception
- Elevate resident voice in City operations
“The Grand Rapids Police Department is a national leader in its commitment to fostering greater transparency as it works to build trust with the residents it serves,” said Michael Simon, CEO of Elucd. “By leveraging 21st century technology, Grand Rapids leaders are prioritizing hearing from everyone in their city as they improve both safety and quality of life in every neighborhood.”
Original source can be found here.
Source: City of Grand Rapids
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