Seattle University Public Safety Survey

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About the Seattle University partnership

Seattle University is conducting a two-year mixed method process evaluation of the Seattle Police Department’s Micro Community Policing Plans. The evaluation will involve collection of quantitative and qualitative data including the development of the Seattle Public Safety Survey.

The Seattle Public Safety Survey, conducted independently by Seattle University researchers, collects data at the micro-community level about perceptions of crime and public safety, police-community interactions, and knowledge and understanding of the MCPPs. Survey data will be used in conjunction with focus groups and police-community engagement to inform and revise the MCPP priorities and strategies. MCPPs will then be used in conjunction with crime data to direct Seattle police resources and services to target unique needs of Seattle’s micro-communities.

The Seattle Public Safety Survey measures perceptions

The Seattle Public Safety Survey works to collect qualitative and quantitative data that gives insight to perceptions of crime and safety within each micro-community.  The areas measured are perceptions of police legitimacy, informal social control, social cohesion, fear of crime, social disorganization, and positive perceptions and high knowledge of Seattle Police Department's community engagement initiatives. Ideally, a healthy community with positive police-citizen relations will have high police legitimacy, low social disorganization, high informal social control, high social cohesion, low fear of crime, and positive perception and high knowledge of police-community engagement efforts.  

Participate in May - August 2020 Focus Groups

As part of the Seattle Police Department’s Micro-Community Policing Plans, Seattle University Micro-Community Policing Plans Researcher Analysts invite those who live and/or work in Seattle to respond to focus group questions from May through August, 2020 citywide in each of the city’s 58 micro-communities. The focus group questions provide an opportunity to provide feedback to the Seattle Police Department on crime and public safety in Seattle as a check-in between the administration of the Seattle Public Safety Survey every fall.

As a result of the COVID-19 situation, this year the focus group questions will be distributed online via a short open-ended survey and we have added a question on perceptions on the impact of COVID-19 on crime and public safety. Thank you in advance for taking the time to offer your perspective on crime and public safety in Seattle via the online focus group questions.

Learn more:
Seattle University Center for the Study of Crime and Justice -  Collaborative Research

Police

Sue Rahr, Interim Chief of Police
Address: 610 5th Avenue, Seattle, WA, 98104-1900
Mailing Address: PO Box 34986, Seattle, WA, 98124-4986
Phone: (206) 625-5011
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The Seattle Police Department (SPD) prevents crime, enforces laws, and supports quality public safety by delivering respectful, professional, and dependable police services. SPD operates within a framework that divides the city into five geographical areas called "precincts".