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Calgary Police commission survey shows 94 per cent satisfaction with city police

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A new Calgary police commission survey suggests 94 per cent of Calgarians are satisfied with the level of police service in the city — a stark contrast to a recent Postmedia/Mainstreet poll that found just 39 per cent approved of the force’s performance.

The commission’s 2016 Citizen Satisfaction survey also found that 95 per cent of Calgarians are confident the Calgary Police Service can deliver the service needed to ensure the city is safe.

The survey results, released Wednesday, also showed that almost half of Calgarians feel that crime rates are increasing, and concerns around house break and enters have increased. A higher percentage of citizens said they had been a victim of crime, with 13 per cent of respondents indicating they have been a victim of crime in the past 12 months, compared with nine per cent the last time the survey question was asked, in 2014.

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Brian Thiessen, vice-chair of the police oversight body, said the insight provided by the poll is invaluable to them as a commission, and to CPS as well.

“Community feedback is an important part of having an accountable police service,” Thiessen said. 

“This survey is one tool, among many, that we use to gather input about the community’s priorities,” he said. “It gives us a good insight while also pointing to areas where we can make improvements that will enhance satisfaction and confidence in our police.”

The data was gathered from 1,000 residents of Calgary over an eight-week period between June 28 and Aug. 18.

By contrast, nearly half of those polled (48 per cent) in the Mainstreet survey said they disapproved of the way Calgary police are doing their jobs.

Recommended from Editorial
  1. Read the complete Calgary police commission poll on police service satisfaction
  2. Read Mainstreet Research's comparison of the two polls on the Calgary Police Service

Mainstreet executive vice-president David Valentin told Postmedia his findings were of interest to the Calgary police commission. 

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The commission asked us to be available to present yesterday . . . We were available to be reached by teleconference as requested,” he said. “Ultimately, we were informed the committee chose not to call on us to provide feedback.”

In a release detailing methodology differences between the two polls, Mainstreet said they would not question the design or script or their professionalism, but described the results as “other worldly.”

Mainstreet Research compared the approval ratings for the Calgary Police Service in the Police Commission poll with approval ratings for world leaders at the height of their popularity.
Mainstreet Research compared the approval ratings for the Calgary Police Service in the Police Commission poll with approval ratings for world leaders at the height of their popularity.

Doug King, a professor in the department of justice studies at Mount Royal University, said the different survey results boil down to different methods used to collect the information.

He noted the Mainstreet poll was done on a specific day in September and portrays a “snapshot” of how those surveyed felt on that day. The police commission survey was conducted over two months. 

The commission’s survey was also done live as opposed to an automated process, which could tend to “skew the numbers up a bit” from respondents who don’t differentiate the role of the police commission from the Calgary Police Service, King said.

King said the police commission survey indicates there has been “somewhat of a softening” among the people that strongly approve of the Calgary Police Service.

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“The extreme comment — that isn’t shifting to I don’t approve,” he said. “What it’s shifting to is a less fulsome support.”

Chaffin said Wednesday he was well aware the numbers were trending downward from 2013, but fixing it is not as easy as “flicking on a light.”

Respondents were split on whether officers facing misconduct would be held to account; whether police required more training to deal with high-stress situations; and whether they’d be treated fairly if they were subject to a police investigation.

“The biggest issue is understanding our organization, you have to know what you’re fixing before you fix it,” he said.

Chaffin said the effect social media is having on policing in countries around the world should not be disregarded here at home.

“We are in a small world. What we see happen in the U.S. has an effect on Calgary,” he said.

Police in the U.S. have faced fierce criticism and protests over a number of high-profile shootings of black people.

Coun. Ward Sutherland, one of two councillors on the police commission, said Chaffin faces “a double edge” when it comes to transparency. 

“With all this transparency when there’s things going on, all of a sudden people are going, ‘well, this didn’t happen before.’ And, well, perhaps it did and it was dealt with internally, but the public didn’t know about it.” 

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