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Overall, the survey shows
that 77 percent of Toledo residents approve of the
performance of the Toledo Police Department and over 80
percent of respondents feel that Toledo Police officers are
always or mostly fair – well above the national average in
both categories.
The Community Relations
Survey came about as a result of an inquiry in 2014 by the
Chief’s Advisory Board on the matter of citizen satisfaction
with city policing. Kral recalled the ongoing internal city
government efforts to analyze the performance of the police
department which led a number of those trying to perform
such analysis to a revelation.
“We realized that we’ve
never asked the people we serve,” said Kral.
During Thursday’s press
conference to announce the results of the report, Kral said:
“This is the first time I’ve ever seen a survey like this.”
The 28-page report, which
can be viewed online on the TPD website, was developed by
Kasey Tucker-Gail, PhD; David Lilley, PhD and Megan Stewart,
PhD, of the University of Toledo. “We asked respondents over
30 questions,” said Tucker-Gail of the methodology. “We
asked the ‘why’ questions.” What the survey revealed, said
Tucker-Gail were “trends against the nation’s average” and
that “the chief and the mayor are doing a good job using
evidence-based practices.”
“We are able to move
forward when we can build trust,” said Hicks-Hudson of the
on-going effort of the City of Toledo and the TPD to focus
attention on the services that residents feel they need.
“I’m always proud of Toledo police – that they do protect,
that they do serve.”
The measure of community
feelings was begun in a series of town hall meetings that
started in April 2015 at various locations throughout the
city of Toledo. The discussions of the meetings were focused
on two topics: what can be done to make Toledo a safer place
to live and how can trust between the community and the
police department be built?
The demographic breakdown
of the attendees at the meetings was 48.2 percent – white;
45.5 percent – black; 0.9 percent – Latino; 3.6 percent –
mixed; .9 percent – other and . 9 percent – unknown. The
survey results from the meetings revealed that 63.6 percent
of respondents feel safe in their neighborhoods; 62.7
percent trust the TPD; 58.2 percent feel that crime has
increased in their neighborhood and 56.4 percent feel that
the town hall meetings had been helpful.
The Community Relations
Survey was released in December 2016 and responses were
collected through May 2017 with 802 validated responses
received. Seventy-seven per cent of respondents indicated a
positive view of TPD. Among the white respondents, 78
percent had a positive view; 63 percent of black respondents
had a favorable view; 84 percent of Latinos had a favorable
view and 68 percent of “others” had a similar view.
Only seven percent of the
survey group said that they feared police officers when they
see them on the street.
The critical part of the
survey, noted Kral, were the responses from citizens about
their chief concerns about crime in their neighborhoods.
These concerns, he said, will help guide the department in
the future. “Theft and burglaries are where most people feel
our assets should be directed,” said the chief.
The survey resulted in a
number of recommendations for the police department such as
continuing to use multiple methods of communications to the
community; continuing to collect and analyze data and
continuing to engage in evidence-based policing efforts and
strategies.
The town hall meetings
will continue – the next one is scheduled for the Point
Place neighborhood on September 18 – and the surveys will
continue, noted Tucker-Gail.
“We are going to do this
again,” said Kral. “ And the 77 will be 83.” |
