WS - E - Conducting Community Surveys

Survey development Carrying out the community survey involves installation and use of the CVS software provided by COPS/BJS. While this task should be carried out by someone knowledgeable about computers, it is a straightforward procedure that involves following clearly specified steps. The technical manual accompanying the software includes detailed installation and use instructions. Thinking about and setting goals The first and most important step of survey research, and the most often overlooked step, is determining the goals of the survey. Surveys for police can be used for different purposes and it is important to thoroughly discuss and articulate these goals prior to conducting the research. Avoiding or rushing this step will invariably result in problems. Articulating survey goals invariably saves time, money and headaches. For example, if your jurisdiction is not interested in collecting information about victimization for different types of crime, much effort would be expended for collecting data with little value to your agency. Similarly, if your agency is not engaged in community policing & and has no interest in implementing community policing & you won’t want to waste time asking respondents about community policing initiatives. If your agency is concerned about its relationship among different groups of Asian heritage & perhaps Lao, Cambodian and Vietnamese & the survey must ask about country of origin. Thinking about these needs after the survey is conducted is too late. So, thinking through and articulating goals help police develop a survey instrument that is most appropriate for the jurisdiction. Articulating goals also facilitates analysis. For example, if you’re interested in the rate of crime in the Northeast area of your city, the sampling plan must collect enough responses from that neighborhood to yield valid information. If you’re particularly interested in the opinions of a small ethnic group, or a particular age group, this affects your sample size and sampling plan. It’s best to know these needs at the beginning of the survey, not after the survey is completed. During the discussion of goals, police should also plan whether the survey is to be repeated periodically. While there are many benefits to conducting periodic surveys of citizens, this replication may be beyond the resources of the jurisdiction. It may be more feasible to conduct the community survey every other year or even every three years. While the longer time frame may wash out some of the information about police services, such a survey will still provide valuable information which is a snapshot of a point in time. If possible, decisions about replication should be made before conducting the first survey as plans to replicate the survey can have implications for what questions are asked. While your jurisdiction may not be exceptionally interested in victimization rates for a one-time survey, declines in victimization rates & as reflected in a periodic survey & may provide useful information for evaluating crime control and public Conducting Community Surveys 7