NCJ Number
120500
Journal
Canadian Police College Journal Volume: 13 Issue: 2 Dated: (1989) Pages: 128-136
Date Published
1989
Length
9 pages
Annotation
The police chief in Ingersoll, a small community in Ontario, used a "community survey" to generate data on the citizens' perceptions of policing services, needs, and priorities in order to assess current policing strategies and formulate future policies.
Abstract
The sample included 269 respondents whose names were provided by the local public utilities customer list. Males outnumbered females two to one, the respondents were overly representative of older citizens and those living in single detached homes, and three-quarters had lived in the town for over six years. Over 75 percent of the respondents had had some contact with the local police, mostly as victim, traffic offender, party to a traffic accident, witness, or criminal suspect. They were queries as to their views on traffic enforcement, fear of crime, specific problems of crime in the community, and responsibility for crime prevention. The majority of Ingersoll residents favored more traffic law vigilance, felt safe in the community (the percentage dropped for feelings of safety at night), believed vandalism and alcohol-related crimes to be most prevalent, and felt the public needed to do more to prevent crime. 6 tables, 9 references.