The Bonnyville Community Policing Committee wants to know how residents feel about policing within the Town of Bonnyville.
Surveys have been distributed to town residents in their monthly water bills, asking questions regarding the local RCMP detachment, and police matters.
“We do this once a year, and it's to find out how the public feels policing is being handled in Bonnyville. We want to know if residents are satisfied. We review every survey to get an understanding of what people want,” said Coun. Rene Van Brabant, who also sits on the policing committee.
There will be a set list of questions included in the survey, along with space for residents to address any additional thoughts or concerns.
The committee hopes to see a high participation rate, as they have utilized it in the past to make significant improvements. Most recently, the results of the 2016 survey lead to electronic street signs to reduce speeding in the Town of Bonnyville.
According to Van Brabant, the solution has been a success, and wouldn't have been possible without community participation in the survey. Those who choose to participate, can rest assured their thoughts won't be falling on deaf ears.
“We analyze every single survey and then make recommendations to the policing committee. For example, when we were having a real problem with speeding last year, we were able to obtain new signs through the policing survey. People expressed a lot of worry, so we purchased the signs and they've worked out really well,” he explained.
The RCMP are also encouraging residents to take the time to fill out the survey. They welcome both positive and negative feedback, because the more data they have to analyze, the easier it will be for them to improve.
That feedback doesn't come during their day-to-day operations, making each completed survey even more valuable to the detachment.
“It's important to obtain information from residents and get their feedback on how they feel the RCMP is performing in their duties. We need to know what things we're doing well and what things we can improve on. We don't get that on a daily basis. It's important to generate that discussion to identify any gaps we could work towards filling,” said Sgt. Sarah Parke.
The committee echoed Parke's statement, encouraging residents to include anything from ideas for the future, to current concerns or perceived shortfalls.
“It's very important for us to fully understand how the people of Bonnyville feel about their policing so we can make any possible improvements and point out any downfalls. I definitely encourage all of our residents to fill them out,” Van Brabant expressed.
Surveys can be submitted online at the Town of Bonnyville website, or at town hall. Those who didn't receive a survey in their water bill can also visit town hall to pick-up their copy. The deadline to submit the community policing survey is December 31.
