Peterborough Police Service Launch Community Perception Survey
/The Peterborough Police Service is launching a Community Perception Survey, asking for feedback from residents, released to the public on Friday.
Photo courtesy of the Peterborough Police Service.
It is the first survey of this scope in many years and is anonymous and voluntary.
As part of the 2024-2027 Peterborough Police Service Strategic Plan, the Service has committed to completing a community survey in 2025 and again in 2027 according to a press release. The Strategic Plan has three pillars: Enhance Community Safety, Modernize Policing Services, and Support Our People, which aim to build trust and confidence with the public.
“As we embark on initiatives to meet these goals, it is important to hear from our largest stakeholder – the community,” said Stuart Betts, Peterborough Police Service Chief. This is so we can understand how they interact with the Service, how safe they feel in our policing areas, which issues are of concern, and how they believe we are living up to our motto of professional, friendly, helpful. As a Service, we have been working on gathering and using data to help us have officers and resources in the right place, at the right time, to do the right thing. This survey will build on that commitment to be evidence-based and data driven.”
Peterborough Police Service say that the survey will become an important data collection tool and help identify areas where crime prevention initiatives could be further explored, implemented or improved.
There are roughly 35 questions, asking residents if they have interacted with the service, how they get their information on policing issues, whether they are aware of specialty units and safety initiatives, whether they have witnessed or been the victim of a hate/bias incident or crime, how safe they feel in downtown, how safe they feel in the other Peterborough policed areas and what is their top traffic concern.
The survey includes a set of core questions about police accountability, legitimacy, and perception of safety. It is being conducted in partnership with several other mid-size police agencies to understand how our communities are the same and different.
The survey will be available online until June 3.
There will be several in-person opportunities for residents to fill out the survey, including:
The Peterborough Home and Garden Show at the Healthy Planet Arena
Saturday from 9 a.m. – 6 p.m.
Sunday from 9 a.m. – 3 p.m.
175th Anniversary Community Celebration at 1421 Lansdowne St.
May 31 from 10 a.m. – 1 p.m.
