“The citizen survey is an important tool for EPS as it gives us an opportunity to systematically collect feedback from a large sample of citizens regarding what EPS is doing well, and areas where the organization could improve,” says Andrew Lejeune, EPS Strategic Analyst. “Essentially, it helps the police service become more responsive and inclusive, and helps the city become safer.”
The EPS conducts its biennial citizen surveys as part of its community engagement program. The survey helps identify key community issues, concerns, perceptions, and priorities with respect to crime, disorder, and neighbourhood safety. The results also help to inform the Edmonton Police Service and the Edmonton Police Commission of citizens’ priorities, assist in organizational planning, and determine resource allocation.
Advanis, an independent market and social research firm from Edmonton, will be conducting the random telephone survey of 1,300 adult Edmontonians from Feb. 1 to 22, 2016. The survey sample is representative of the population of Edmonton.
Researchers will be calling landlines and mobile phones during this period, and will not be asking for any personal or financial information other than basic demographics such as gender, age, level of education, and postal code.
Citizens will also have the opportunity to provide input to the EPS using the new Edmonton Insight Community survey website from Feb. 22 to 28, 2016.
In the 2014 EPS Citizen Survey, citizens reported:
- 93 per cent of those contacted had confidence in the EPS.
- The top issue affecting their neighbourhoods was speeding/reckless driving.
- The top three city-wide issues police should focus on were traffic, drugs, and gangs/organized crime.
The 2016 EPS Citizen Survey results will be presented to the Edmonton Police Commission in late spring.