Independent Survey Finds Significant Support for Metropolitan Police Department
Eight out of ten Nashville residents and nine out of ten Nashville businesses report that they are satisfied with the overall competence of the Metropolitan Police Department according to a survey just completed by an independent Oklahoma-based research firm.
Wilson Research Strategies, Inc., which has been retained by the police department to conduct biannual surveys of Nashvillians’opinions about crime and the police department, polled 400 adult residents and 400 business owners/managers at random by telephone May 28-June 2.
“I am very grateful to Nashville’s families for their support, and our police officers for their tremendous work,”Chief Ronal Serpas said.
“While the results of the survey certainly leave room for improvement, I am pleased by the numbers in this first poll. I note that a national Gallup poll released just last week showed that 63% of Americans have a great deal or quite a lot of confidence in the police, who were second only to the military in the survey. Nashvillians opinions of their police department clearly rise above the national average,”Serpas said.
The survey of adult Nashville residents and business owners/managers found that:
- 79% of residents and 89% of businesses are satisfied with the police department’s overall quality of service;
- 71% of residents and 77% of businesses are satisfied with the police department’s efforts in preventing crime;
- 75% of residents and 84% of businesses are satisfied with the general attitude and behavior of officers toward citizens;
- 74% of residents and 79% of businesses are satisfied with the police department’s traffic enforcement efforts;
- 84% of residents and 86% of business owners/managers feel safe in their own neighborhoods or businesses;
- 68% of residents and 74% of businesses believe that the performance of the police department has improved during the past year;
- 73% of residents and 76% of businesses rate Chief Ronal Serpas’performance as excellent or good.
“This is a police department that is well on its way to making this the safest big city in America, and it is obvious the people of Nashville understand and appreciate the leadership of this chief and the work of our department,”Mayor Bill Purcell said.
When asked for the most important issue facing Nashville’s neighborhoods, 16% of residents responded crime in general. Seven percent responded traffic violations, six percent said drug activity, six percent said taxes and five percent said schools.
In response to the same question, 13% of business owners/managers said safety was the most important issue, 11% said burglaries, 7% said crime in general and 7% said traffic violations.
In the area of drug enforcement, 55% of residents and 60% of businesses are satisfied with the police department’s efforts in getting drugs off the streets.
“The men and women of the Metropolitan Police Department have made great strides in forming new crime-fighting partnerships in neighborhoods throughout our city over the past several months,”Chief Serpas said. “Our precinct-based drug detectives are working diligently to rid neighborhoods of the street dealers who hold families hostage. But, as I have said in the past, this is a marathon, not a sprint, and we will remain focused in overcoming the challenges before us.”
Wilson Research Strategies, Inc., based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, has a five-year contract with the city to conduct biannual surveys for the police department.