SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — In efforts to better understand community concerns in San Diego, Mayor Todd Gloria, Police Chief David Nisleit, and local leaders announced today the launch of a survey tool to gauge trust and sentiment toward police and public safety issues.
Through a partnership with Zencity, the San Diego Police Department joins a list of cities and law enforcement agencies across the U.S. taking advantage of software to effect change.
“Making decisions on public safety should involve input from the public, and this new tool allows us to do just that,” Mayor Gloria said. “These surveys will have a much broader reach into our communities by putting it on the apps and websites people use most. While we’ve collected extensive data over the years, this tool gives us a chance to connect with residents quickly and directly, offering us real-time sentiments. This will be a great step toward really understanding the needs and concerns of our residents to make the best decisions for the future of public safety in our city.”
Starting this week, surveys translated into seven languages will begin to appear to San Diegans through the use of digital ads in various locations such as news websites, social media platforms, blogs and apps. Based on responses, the tool will measure the safety and trust residents have in their communities, while also identifying key concerns residents want the police to address.
“This survey allows us to engage and collaborate with our community in new ways,” Police Chief David Nisleit said. “It will help us understand how residents across San Diego feel about police in their communities, make improvements based on that feedback, and monitor how that sentiment changes over time.”
In under five minutes, San Diegans can help the San Diego Police Department and City leaders know how they feel. Questions asked include:
- When it comes to the threat of crime, how safe do you feel in your neighborhood? Please indicate on a scale of 0 (not safe at all) to 10 (completely safe).
- How much do you agree with this statement? The police in my neighborhood treat local residents with respect. (Level of agreement from 0-10)
- How much do you agree with this statement? The police in my neighborhood listen to and take into account the concerns of local residents. (Level of agreement from 0-10)
- What is the number one issue or problem on your block or in your neighborhood that you would like the police to deal with? Please be specific. [Open-ended response]
The survey is completely anonymous and does not gather or track personal data of respondents. The survey will typically gather 1,000 responses from San Diego, California, residents each month, across all police divisions. Once a good sampling of responses has been received, SDPD will work with Zencity to create public dashboards on the trust and sentiment expressed by residents to a page on the SDPD website.
