ASU and Tempe police want students to tell them how well they think the departments are doing their jobs.
ASU police will distribute a survey to students, faculty and staff in November to gauge campus attitudes toward the effectiveness of the police department, Lt. John Sutton said.
"We want to know how safe people feel on campus," Sutton said. "The survey will ask respondents how well they perceive we're doing our job, what we need to focus on and what we need to do better."
Results will be organized into a report and released to the public, Sutton said. Police will use the report to analyze their procedures and discuss department strengths and weaknesses.
The department is working with an on-campus research group to revamp the survey questions following a 33 percent rate of response when people on campus were surveyed in 2000, Sutton said.
"We're predicting a much higher rate of response this year," he added.
Biology senior Christena Ruiz-Lewis said that given an opportunity to respond to the survey, she would request more police presence on campus.
"Even though I see officers driving around campus, I very rarely see officers walking around with the students," she said. "Just seeing them would make me feel a little bit safer."
Ruiz-Lewis added that the police likely have good intentions, but might not have the money or personnel to make changes.
"I hope that the department makes some changes, but I guess it ultimately comes down to their resources," she said.
Law enforcement agencies are required to survey their communities a minimum of once every three years in order to maintain their accreditation, Sutton said.
Approximately 6,000 Tempe residents will be called randomly by the Tempe Police Department between Oct. 27 and Nov. 8.
Department volunteers will ask residents to complete a 55-question survey over the phone and provide input on topics such as photo radar, crime perception and police response.
"The survey assesses the behaviors, experiences and attitudes of the residents of Tempe as they relate to police issues," said Mary Anders of the Tempe police Crime Analysis Unit.
"The information that we gather from the survey will be used to meet accreditation requirements, but we will also use survey statistics to compose our annual report, analyze policies and implement any necessary changes," Anders said.
Though the survey does not include questions on loud neighborhood parties, Anders said one might appear on next year's survey, given the controversy currently surrounding the issue.
Qwest provided residential numbers to Tempe police based on local ZIP codes, meaning that students in ASU's residence halls may be contacted to participate in the survey, Anders said.
Surveys will be conducted on weekdays from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. and on Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Reach the reporter at kelly.vaughn@asu.edu.
