Police survey reveals citizen opinion

Citizens of La Crosse sent out their electronic voices last spring through a survey released by the area police department. Of the 5,000 residents picked from a random sample, 558 replied and rated the quality of service they believed the police had earned. The survey-takers ranged from students who had lived in La Crosse for less than a year to homeowners keeping residence for more than 30 years, with 51 percent of responses coming from the latter.
“We wanted to see what the community thought about our work,” said Captain Robert Abraham, head of the Bureau of Community Services. “It’s worthwhile to know how the community feels about law enforcement officers, because sometimes there is a distance between the two.” Overall, 34 percent of respondents thought police interaction during an emergency was excellent, and 24 percent thought it was good. No one thought it was fair or poor.
The survey was a follow-up to one released in 2001. A major addition to the 2009 survey was the querying of the community’s opinion regarding the public intoxication laws instituted four years ago. Close to 50 percent of the survey population thought that enforcing those laws is extremely important. Officers were pleased to see overwhelming community support for the laws. Other changes weren’t so positive.
“We were concerned with the lack of community within neighborhoods,” Capt. Abraham said. Residents were asked if they know their neighbors by name, and if they discussed concerns with them. The citywide results were split down the middle, with 31 percent agreeing and 32 percent disagreeing. The rest strongly agreed, strongly disagreed, or had no opinion.
“Knowing your neighbors can actually lead to a decrease in crime, so we want to add to neighborhood watch programs,” said Capt. Abraham. This will only be one part of their plan to use survey information to improve law enforcement strategies in the community. Other concerns came from the community members themselves.
Many of the respondents suggested that officers spend more time enforcing speeding and traffic violations. Others thought the police should “treat others with respect or friendlier” Very few citizens felt that underage drinking should get more attention.
The survey was created by the UW-La Crosse Department of Political Science, and the raw data was processed by Dr. Jo Arney.
“We are very grateful to the Department of Political Science at UW-L, especially Dr. Arney,” said Capt. Abraham. “She’s given us plenty of great ideas for our next survey, which we hope to release in a few years.” To see the survey, visit the City of La Crosse homepage at www.cityoflacrosse.org.

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