DALTON, Ga.-The Dalton Police Department wants to know how much you like it and the job it does.
Department officials, with the help of Dalton State College students, mailed out about 900 survey forms to residents this week, asking about citizens’ perception of crime in the area, satisfaction with the department and knowledge about programs it offers.
Although the department does similar surveys every three years, this is the first year it used a random sampling of residents rather than sending out questionnaires to members of civic organizations or other groups, according to a news release. It is also the first year Dalton State research students are involved in the process.
Spokesman Bruce Frazier said survey results will be used to help create the department’s three-year strategic plan due in 2012.
The survey recipients were chosen randomly from names in the department’s records management software – a database that contains all residents who have had contact with the department in the past year, proportional to the demographic makeup of the city. The list includes complainants, witnesses and anyone given a citation, but did not include suspects in reports, Frazier said.
“By focusing on people who have actually dealt with our agency, you’re getting people who have an informed opinion about the agency, whether it’s good or bad,” Frazier said. “The reason we’re using our records system is that it’s the best way to come up with a sample set that is representative of the demographics of Dalton without enlisting an outside research company, which is going to cost a lot of money.”
Using a random sampling will achieve a more scientific survey, Frazier said.
Criminal justice students and faculty, who helped to create some of the survey’s questions, also will help analyze the data for a methodology class, according to Anthony Simones, a criminal justice professor at Dalton State.
About 20 students, mostly juniors and seniors, will spend dozens of hours on the project, he said.
“This is the sort of partnership we had in mind when we created the four-year [criminal justice] program,” Simone said.
If the department hired an outside consulting firm to perform the research, it would cost as much as $30,000, the news release stated.
Department officials declined to release a copy of the survey, saying they are afraid doing so would taint the results.