Staff
The Rainy River District OPP detachment got high marks on a community satisfaction survey conducted earlier this year, with 94.3 percent of respondents either “satisfied” or “very satisfied” with its quality of police service.
“We’re very pleased with the results, and the fact it was an independent survey,” said detachment commander Insp. John Kendrick, noting it was conducted by a commercial research company.
This was a first as they were conducted by volunteers in the past.
“Some of the questions in it are generic . . . but overall, you get a good impression of whether you’re hitting the mark with the community,” Insp. Kendrick added.
“We use the survey for the business planning process going into the fall, planning for the next year,” he noted. “So there’s areas that we look at and if there’s any concerns, we’ll develop strategies to deal with that.
“We’re very pleased with the overall satisfaction for the area,” he reiterated. “We strive to meet the community’s needs so when someone comes along independently and gives you some results to suggest that you’re meeting the mark, that’s a good thing.”
The OPP survey, conducted between April 30 and June 10, was turned over to the local Police Services Board on Friday.
A total of 621 district respondents completed surveys, including 266 from Fort Frances, 132 from Atikokan, 78 from Emo, 58 from Rainy River, 39 from the unorganized areas, 30 from Morley, 17 from Chapple, and one from Lake of the Woods.
When asked about community issues, 59.6 percent of respondents replied drug/substance abuse was a problem while 43.2 percent said alcohol abuse also was major concern.
Thirty-two percent said property crime was an issue, 27.5 percent said nuisance activities were troublesome, and 22.4 percent listed drug grow operations/drug labs as a concern.
Looking at youth-related issues, 45.4 percent of respondents said drugs in schools was an issue while 41.2 percent said their community was lacking youth programs or initiatives.
A total of 32.4 percent said violence in schools also was a concern, with 21.1 percent saying youth gathering on the streets was a problem where they live.
Just over six percent said youth gangs were a problem.
A total of 30.4 percent of respondents also said domestic violence was an issue in their community, with 20 percent saying child abuse also was an issue.
A total of 17.6 percent said sexual assault was, too, while 12.9 percent said elder abuse was a problem where they lived.
Twenty-eight percent of respondents felt alcohol offences in public areas continues to be a problem while 39.9 percent considered vandalism to public or private property to be an issue. Some 32.9 percent considered residential break-and-enters to be a problem.
A total of 36.6 percent of respondents consider speeding within town limits to be a problem in their communities while 38.5 percent thought speeding on township or country roads to be an issue.
Some 40.3 percent were concerned about speeding on provincial highways.
But despite many of their concerns about crime in their communities, 92.6 percent of respondents felt “very safe” or “safe” walking alone at night
Other data from the survey included:
•99.2 percent of the respondents felt “very safe” or “safe” in their community;
•Over the past two years, 28 percent of the respondents said they’d had contact with the OPP in their community in a routine situations, such as a community/charity event or with a school resource officer;
•87.2 percent of respondents said the OPP were “somewhat involved” or “very involved” in their community;
•91.2 percent of respondents were “satisfied” or “very satisfied” with the OPP’s ability to work with communities to solve local problems;
•92.6 percent of respondents were “satisfied” or “very satisfied” with the OPP’s visibility in their community;
•94.9 percent of respondents were “satisfied” or “very satisfied” with the OPP’s visibility on the highways;
•Ninety percent of respondents were “satisfied” or “very satisfied” with the OPP’s enforcement of aggressive driving laws, while 92 percent of respondents were “satisfied” or “very satisfied” with the OPP’s enforcement of drunk driving laws;
•Eighty-nine percent of respondents were “satisfied” or “very satisfied” with the OPP’s response time to violent crimes;
•82.2 percent of respondents were “satisfied” or “very satisfied” with the OPP’s effectiveness charging people who have committed a property crime;
•90.7 percent of respondents were “satisfied” or “very satisfied” with the OPP’s effectiveness charging people who have committed a violent crime; and
•92.6 percent of respondents were “satisfied” or “very satisfied” with the OPP’s sensitivity towards victims of a violent crime.
Over the past year, 32.4 percent of respondents said they had contact with the OPP in a traffic situation (such as a collision or traffic stop) as a victim/witness or an accused/charged person.
A total of 83.3 percent of the victims/witnesses said they “satisfied” or “very satisfied” with their contact with OPP officers while 87.2 percent of the accused/charged said they were “satisfied” or “very satisfied” with that contact.
Likewise, over the past year, 11.4 percent of respondents said they had contact with the OPP in a property crime (such as a vandalism, break and enter, or theft) as a victim/witness or an accused/charged person.
A total of 76.6 percent of the victims/witnesses said they “satisfied” or “very satisfied” with their contact with OPP officers while 75 percent of the accused/charged said they were “satisfied” or “very satisfied” with that contact.
And over the past year, 5.2 percent of respondents said they had contact with the OPP in a violent crime (violent acts, as well as threats of violence and any sexual offence) as a victim/witness or an accused/charged person.
A total of 70.8 percent of the victims/witnesses said they “satisfied” or “very satisfied” with their contact with OPP officers while 100 percent of the accused/charged said they were “satisfied” or “very satisfied” with that contact.
And of the 44.4 percent of respondents who said they had contacted the OPP in the past year, just 76.2 percent were “satisfied” or “very satisfied” with the ease of contacting them.
Insp. Kendrick said this was surprising and felt the numbers should be higher.
“There should be no problem getting a hold of us,” he remarked. “I know the community has varying options from emergency lines to non-emergency lines, to administrative lines also.
“We’ll have a good look at that one and see why it wasn’t very high,” he said.