2017 Citizen Survey of Police Surveys Citizen Survey Introduction 1

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2 Citizen Survey Introduction 1

3 Table of Contents 2017 Citizen Survey Introduction... 3 Respondents Profile... 4 Key Questions for Key Questions Five Year Comparison Citizens Contact with the Plano Police Department Citizens Opinions of Police Services Citizen Enforcement Direction Neighborhood Watch Program Participation Citizens Opinions of Police Operations Conclusion Table of Contents 2

4 2017 Citizen Survey Introduction The City of Plano Police Department is committed to providing citizens with exemplary service and a safe city. In order to ensure the department is meeting the community s needs and expectations, the Plano Police Department asks the opinions of citizens by mailing annual surveys to randomly selected households throughout the city. The survey poses key questions to assist the department in determining citizen perceptions of safety, quality of life, and quality of police services. The survey allows residents to convey their priorities for enforcement and it serves as a report card that provides insight when establishing goals, enhancing training, and shaping the future of the Police Department. Many of the questions are repeated each year to provide a reference for comparison of changes both in public opinion and for areas of new concern. Analysis of the survey results assists in tracking opinions regarding the quality of services and helps direct the focus of the department s efforts to better serve the citizens of Plano. One-thousand citizen surveys were mailed to randomly selected residences in seven Zip Codes: 75023, 75024, 75025, 75074, 75075, 75093, and The citywide survey response rate was 16.6 percent. Zip Code Households Percent of Total Households Surveys Mailed Surveys Returned Return Percentage By Zip Code Return Percentage Total Mailed , % % 2.8% , % % 2.2% , % % 3.5% , % % 1.6% , % % 2.6% , % % 3.8% % % 0.1% Totals 105, % 1, % Citizen Survey Introduction 3

5 Respondents Profile Gender The survey results showed 49 percent of the respondents identified themselves as female and 36 percent identified themselves as male. Fifteen percent of respondents chose not to answer the gender question. 36% Male Respondents 15% No Response 49% Female Respondents Age Group The greatest response came from citizens in the 65 and over age group, followed by the and groups, respectively. Overall, 83 percent of respondents were 45 years of age and older. 41% 29% 10% 13% 3% 0% 4% NO RESPONSE UP Respondents Profile 4

6 Race The survey showed 84 percent of respondents identified themselves as White and 11 percent identified themselves as Asian/Pacific Islander. African Americans and Hispanics accounted for 2 percent and 4 percent, respectively. 11% Asian/Pacific Islander 2% Hispanic 2% African American 84% White 1% No Response Education The survey results indicated 44 percent of the respondents have a graduate degree and 28 percent have an undergraduate degree, while 22 percent have some college education. 44% 22% 28% 1% 0% 5% NO RESPONSE LESS THAN HIGH SCHOOL HIGH SCHOOL SOME COLLEGE UNDERGRADUATE DEGREE GRADUATE DEGREE Respondents Profile 5

7 Key Questions for 2017 How safe do you feel in Plano? The survey results showed 70 percent of the respondents felt very safe, 25 percent of the respondents felt somewhat safe, and 2 percent of the respondents felt somewhat unsafe in Plano. None of the respondents felt very unsafe. 25% Somewhat Safe 2% Somewhat Unsafe 70% Very Safe 3% Neither How safe do you feel walking alone in your neighborhood? During the day, 80 percent of the respondents felt very safe, 16 percent felt somewhat safe. No respondents reported feeling very unsafe. After dark, 34 percent of the respondents felt very safe, 41 percent felt somewhat safe, and only 2 percent reported feeling very unsafe. 80% Day After Dark 34% 41% 16% 12% 1% 0% 2% 1% 2% 2% 9% VERY SAFE SOMEWHAT SAFE SOMEWHAT UNSAFE VERY UNSAFE DON'T KNOW NEITHER Key Questions for

8 How safe do you feel walking alone at shopping centers, businesses, and downtown areas? The results showed during the day 67 percent of the respondents felt very safe, 28 percent felt somewhat safe, 1 percent felt somewhat unsafe, and 0 percent felt very unsafe. After dark, 18 percent of respondents felt very safe, 48 percent felt somewhat safe, 17 percent felt somewhat unsafe, and 3 percent reported feeling very unsafe walking alone in these areas. Day After Dark 67% 48% 28% 18% 17% 1% 3% 0% 1% 7% 7% 3% VERY SAFE SOMEWHAT SAFE SOMEWHAT UNSAFE VERY UNSAFE DON'T KNOW NEITHER How safe do you feel driving on roadways in Plano? When asked about their feelings of safety when driving on roadways in Plano, 49 percent of respondents felt very safe and 35 percent felt somewhat safe. Ten percent of the 166 respondents reported feeling somewhat unsafe driving in Plano. 35% Somewhat Safe 10% Somewhat Unsafe 6% Neither 49% Very Safe Key Questions for

9 Do you feel crime in Plano is increasing, decreasing, or stable? When asked specifically about whether they felt crime in Plano was increasing, decreasing, or stable, 72 percent of the respondents felt crime was stable while 24 percent felt that crime was increasing. 72% Stable 24% Increasing 4% Decreasing Quality of Police Services Rating When asked to judge the overall quality of police service using a standard grading scale where a letter grade of A is excellent and B is good, 97 percent of the survey respondents gave the Police Department Good to Excellent. 1% D 63% A 2% C 34% B Key Questions for

10 How would you rate the quality of life in Plano? The survey results showed that 65 percent of the respondents rated the overall quality of life in Plano as excellent while 31 percent of the respondents rated the overall quality of life in Plano as good. 31% Good 4% Average 65% Excellent Key Questions for

11 Key Questions Five Year Comparison Key questions addressing citizen concern for safety, the level of crime, quality of police services, and quality of life are asked every year to examine potential changes in citizens perceptions. The following charts compare responses for 2013 through Perception of Safety 66% 61% 72% 71% 70% 27% 31% 28% 26% 25% 1% 2% 4% 3% 5% 2% 1% 2% 3% Very Safe Somewhat Safe Somewhat Unsafe Very Unsafe Neither Perception of Crime 80% 70% 78% 72% 62% 31% 23% 13% 7% 7% 7% 17% 24% 5% 4% Stable Increasing Decreasing Key Questions Five Year Comparison 10

12 Quality of Police Services 62% 58% 69% 71% 63% 33% 35% 34% 26% 25% 4% 6% 5% 3% 1% 1% 1% 1% 2% 1% A B C D F 66% Quality of Life in Plano 76% 73% 61% 65% 32% 37% 31% 24% 24% 2% 2% 2% 1% 4% Excellent Good Average Poor Key Questions Five Year Comparison 11

13 Citizens Contact with the Plano Police Department To better understand the context of respondents assessments and opinions, it is helpful to know the type of contact respondents had with the police department in For instance, 92 respondents had no contact with police. Consequently, these respondents may not be able to fairly assess the questions regarding employee performance, call handling, and agency employee competence. Type of Citizen Contact MOTORIST ASSIST 4 ALARM RELATED 7 CRIME PREVENTION TALK 7 TRAFFIC CRASH 7 TRAFFIC STOP 15 REPORT A CRIME/INCIDENT 19 OTHER 24 NO CONTACT 92 Citizens Contact with the Plano Police Department 12

14 Citizens Opinions of Police Services Three survey questions specifically address the respondents level of satisfaction with police employee performance, handling calls for service, and employee competence. Did the employee perform to your expectations? The survey results showed 97 percent of the respondents who had contact with department personnel thought the employee performed adequately, meeting the citizen s expectations. 3% No 97% Yes Do you feel that your incident was properly handled? The survey results indicated 98 percent of the respondents who had a police call for service thought their call for service was properly handled, meeting the citizen s expectations. 98% Yes 2% No Citizens Opinions of Police Services 13

15 How would you rate the overall competence of the agency employees? Using a standard grading scale, 97 percent of respondents rated the competence of police employees good to excellent. 32% B 65% A 3% C Citizens Opinions of Police Services 14

16 Citizen Enforcement Direction Citizens were asked where the police department should concentrate its efforts by ranking each of the following categories as most important, important, or least important. A citizen could answer most important to all or any number of categories. The majority of respondents ranked home burglaries, robbery, and DWI enforcement as the most important areas of concern for police enforcement. In the other category, some survey respondents provided written responses. The citizen responses indicated the police department should focus on drivers talking and texting while driving, school zone patrol, and public education. Where would you like your police department to concentrate effort? HOME BURGLARY 67% ROBBERY 55% DWI ENFORCEMENT 45% NEIGHBORHOOD PATROL VEHICLE BURGLARY 35% 39% NARCOTIC VIOLATIONS BUSINESS BURGLARY SPEEDING CRIMINAL MISCHIEF AUTO THEFT FRAUD RED LIGHT ENFORCEMENT 27% 27% 26% 26% 22% 21% 19% OTHER SHOPLIFTING 7% 6% Citizen Enforcement Direction 15

17 Neighborhood Watch Program Participation The survey results showed 18 percent of the respondents reported they were active in the Neighborhood Watch Program, while 82 percent reported they were not active in the program. 82% No 18% Yes 16 Neighborhood Watch Program Participation

18 Citizens Opinions of Police Operations The police operations section of the survey attempts to ascertain how the community perceives the police department and its participation in the community. Respondents were asked to assign a letter grade to specific areas. A letter grade of A is excellent and F is poor. Visibility in the Community Response to Emergencies 37% B 6% C 73% A 24% B 55% A 2% D 3% C Response to Routine Problems Officers Attitudes and Behavior 33% B 8% C 29% B 4% C 59% A 65% A 2% D 17 Citizens Opinions of Police Operations

19 Education Programs in the Community Leadership in the Community 50% A 35% B 35% B 9% C 1% D 1% D 14% C 55% A Leadership in the Police Department 32% B 6% C 62% A 18 Citizens Opinions of Police Operations

20 Conclusion One of the police department s four organizational performance measures by which the department s success is evaluated is the Quality of Police Services delivered. The survey results show the men and women of the police department continue to do an outstanding job providing quality police services to Plano citizens. Using the standard letter grading scale of A - F, 97 percent of survey respondents gave the Police Department high marks for the quality of police services provided. For the past 10 years respondents have consistently rated the department s overall quality of police services favorably. Although the members of the police department continue to deliver high quality police services for the citizens, there are opportunities for the police department to better engage the community in addressing the fear of crime and the prevention of crime. The results of the 2017 survey found that 24 percent of the respondents believed crime in Plano is increasing, despite the fact the major crime rate has steadily decreased for years. When comparing the major crime over the past ten years, it has declined 41 percent from 2008 to Impressively, when citizens were asked about their perception of safety, 95 percent of them reported feeling somewhat safe to very safe in Plano. Additionally, 96 percent of respondents indicated the quality of life in Plano is good to excellent. In addition to the traditional methods of communicating citizen satisfaction survey data (press releases, public meetings, and the website) the department utilizes social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and NextDoor.com to reach thousands of citizens daily. The police department also makes use of the City s performance dashboard website (dashboard.plano.gov) in which citizens have access to data relating to violent and property crimes, as well as response times. Additionally, the department has an opportunity to increase citizens involvement in preventing crime by increasing the number of citizens who participate in Neighborhood Crime Watch Programs. The survey results showed only 18 percent of the respondents reported being a member of a Neighborhood Watch Program. To facilitate engaging the 82 percent who are not involved in a Neighborhood Crime Watch Program, the survey asked the respondents if they desire to be involved in the program. If the respondent indicated they wanted to get involved, their contact information was collected and given to the Crime Prevention Unit personnel for follow-up with the respondent. Conclusion 19

21 Prepared by the Planning and Research Division Prepared By: Jessica Sayre Police Planner (972) Reviewing Supervisor: Danny Alexander Planning and Research Division Manager (972)