OPP detachments in Rainy River District hope to find out what the public thinks of them when they launch a “Policing for Results” survey.
The survey, designed by the OPP’s headquarters in Orillia, will be conducted by phone from the OPP detachment here and takes about 10 minutes to complete.
Cst. Mark Boileau said the OPP hopes to complete 400 surveys from people between Rainy River and Atikokan.
“The purpose of it is to help the detachment make sure we’re helping the public, meeting the public’s needs,” he noted.
The survey also is geared to show the detachments what areas they’re failing in, he added.
“It’s a way to customize the department,” Cst. Boileau explained. “If there’s any place we have to improve, need to improve, it will come up in the survey.”
Phone numbers will be picked at random, and all those who complete the survey will remain anonymous.
“The results will go for compiling at police HQ in Orillia and they will put together our statistics,” Cst. Boileau said.
While the survey itself probably won’t start until December, the OPP is busy lining up volunteers to ask the questions.
The local Community Policing Committee is a lead partner in recruiting volunteers, Cst. Boileau said. He hoped to begin volunteer orientation this week and have them all lined up in the next two to three weeks.
When the survey does get going, volunteers will be making phone calls Monday to Friday from 6-9 p.m., and weekends from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.
How long it will take to complete the district survey depends on how readily district residents participate, Cst. Boileau added, noting it will continue “until we reach our number of anticipated calls.”
“It may take four to six weeks to get it done,” he admitted. “When it was done in Orillia, to get 392 [surveys done] they had to make 2,300 calls so it’s an extensive survey.”
Anyone interested in volunteering can contact Cst. Boileau at the Fort Frances OPP detachment (274-3322) during regular business hours, or Bonnie Bender-Williams of the Community Policing Committee (482-1541).