Last week the Applied Research Division of the San Diego Association of Governments released the results for a resident opinion survey conducted between March and May on behalf of the Chula Vista Police Department for the first time in 12 years.
“I have to tell you I was a little bit nervous, we haven’t had survey since 2007. There’s been a lot of things that have happened in the world and society where sometimes law enforcement is not always viewed in a positive light, which is extremely disappointing to me,” Police Chief Roxana Kennedy said at the Chula Vista council meeting July 23. “But I have to tell you I think there is something different happening in Chula Vista,”
During the meeting, SANDAG Criminal Justice Research Director Cynthia Burke presented the findings from the survey and commended the department for their willingness to use data to strategically determine where they will be going in the next five years.
According to Capt. Phil Collum, the department is preparing to put together another five-year strategic plan, which prompted officials to conduct a resident survey. The last five-year strategic plan was released in 2014. Collum also said a lack of funding has prevented police from conducting a survey since 2007.
A total of 4,000 households across the four Chula Vista districts were randomly selected to be surveyed through a stratified sample, with higher concentrations of surveys sent out to district two and district four because of their historically low response rates.
Each household was sent two surveys, in addition to two postcards containing one question regarding overall satisfaction with Chula Vista police. The total response rate for surveys and postcards was 25.3 percent.
Of the respondents, white residents were overrepresented, making up 36 percent of respondents versus 18 percent of the Chula Vista population. Hispanic residents were underrepresented, making up 40 percent of the sample compared to 61 percent of the population.
The survey sample reflects the population in terms of gender with 49 percent of residents being male and 51 percent being female, but those who returned the survey were age 50 on average, older than the average age of the population, 35.5.
Key findings include a 91 percent satisfaction rating, with 58 percent of residents being very satisfied with police overall, and 34 percent being somewhat satisfied with police overall.
Out of the respondents who had recent contact with police, 75 percent said they were satisfied with how the incident was handled, while 25 percent said they were not.
The survey also found that homelessness is the most common concern of Chula Vista residents, along with it being the most common reason residents avoid areas in the city and the second most common response regarding what should be the highest priority for CVPD in the next five years.
Traffic-related issues are also a common area of concern according to the survey, with traffic-related issues being the second most common concern of Chula Vista residents, the third most common response for how CVPD can improve and the third most commonly noted as something that should be a priority in the next five years.
The number one response for what CVPD’s highest priority should be in the next five years was keeping the public safe/preventing crime/enforcing laws. When asked how CVPD can improve the most common response was being more visible and having more patrols.
The full CVPD Resident Opinion Survey report can be found on the city of Chula Vista’s website and CVPD’s website.
