In the past several years, the Bridgewater Police Department and the Bridgewater Board of Police Commissioners have been seeking better ways in which to deliver improved and more effective services to the public. This survey is designed to provide local residents’ feedback to the Bridgewater Police Department. The Bridgewater Police and the Bridgewater Board of Police Commissioners believe that working in partnership with the community, the Bridgewater Police can enhance service and more effectively meet the needs of the community.
During the months of November, December 2007 and January 2008, the Bridgewater Police Service undertook a Customer Service Survey to address issues and concerns in regards to client satisfaction when dealing with the Bridgewater Police. This report offers a brief summary of the results of that survey.
Public Safety Survey
Crime and Public Safety Survey 2007 pdf.
Business Crime & Quality of Policing Services Survey Report
During the spring of 2003, members of the Bridgewater Police Department began hand delivering Business Crime & Quality of Policing services to businesses within the Town. the survey recipients were asked to take time out of their busy schedules to answer the questions that applied to them.
Survey goals and objectives were to:
1. Gather information about the problems businesses face with respect to crime.
2. Determine the level of satisfaction businesses have with the quality of policing services within the Town; and
3. Utilize the findings to develop strategies and solutions that will improve business and community safety, security and service satisfaction.
The Business Crime Survey, a partnership between the Bridgewater Police and the Bridgewater and Area Crime Prevention Association, reflects the Departments ongoing commitment to community-based policing. Simply put, community-based policing means the return to traditional policing values.
Survey Highlights
The survey has been a valuable tool for measuring the experiences and impact of crime on businesses, as well as assessing businesses' perceptions of safety and security.
- Theft and Vandalism together account for 58% of the victimizations reported.
- Business located on Major Town Routes and in the centre of Town have greater fears of having their businesses vandalized.
- 58% of all businesses indicated the police are doing a good job of enforcing the law. Another 33% selected average and 1% felt they did a poor job. 8% of respondents did not answer this question.
- A key question asked of respondents was whether or not they felt the Bridgewater Police Department was providing adequate preventative protection to their businesses. 83% of businesses situated in Gateway Plaza felt they were receiving adequate service, followed closely by Industrial Park businesses at 78%. Town Centre businesses responded 'yes' the least amount of times at 42% , while 22% of businesses in Eastside Plaza indicated police did not provide preventative protection. Of the total 180 businesses returning completed surveys, 59% responded favourably, 11% responded in the negative, 32% said they did not know and 2% chose not to answer the question.
Client Satisfaction Survey (2006-2007)
The survey was designed to allow evaluation of the attitudes and perceptions of our clients with regards to the police officers, office personnel, and general office procedure.
The survey was administered by telephone allowing the client to explain their answers in more detail. I made note of all comments that were directly related to the level of service we provide.
There were 2223 calls made to the Bridgewater Police Department between the dates of July 1, 2003 and December 31, 2003. I made calls to 227 clients (10.2%). Clients were chosen randomly regardless of the purpose of their call. At first I made the attempt to contact every tenth occurrence, this was not working well as many clients were never at home, or they were repeat callers and had already been surveyed.
The results show that the majority of our clients feel that the level of service they receive is fair to excellent in most categories. There is always room for improvement and in some areas improvement is necessary if we are to meet the needs of our clients.
Highlights of the Survey
- 80 % of calls came directly to the department. Clients spoke with dispatch or with an officer. Very few calls were made through 911 (9 %). In those cases the clients claimed that the response time was slower than when they called the department directly.
- While 41% had been advised of the results of the investigations, 59% were never notified of any results and would have liked to have been told the results of their call. Lack of feedback and follow-up were the major comments in regards to this question.
- Most clients were very happy with the time that it took to have their problems taken care of. Follow up was important though. Most would like to know that the officers did respond and their problem was addressed.
For More Information Contact:
Bridgewater Police Department
60 Pleasant Street, Bridgewater, NS
Tel: 902-543-2464
FAX: 902-543-7478
Internet: Police