Executive Abstract & Highlights
Findings from the 1997 Stevens County Crime and Criminal Justice Survey
-
There is a positive regard for police agencies and police officers with a 90.4% trust rating compared to 85.7% for local school teachers and 73.1% for County officials. A high percentage believe that friendship between police and citizens would develop easily and over two-thirds of citizens are willing to help police by attending meetings, calling neighbors, etc.
-
There is a high level of desire to enhance police-citizen interaction. 34.7% in Stevens County feel there is too little police-citizen interaction compared to 27.5% in the five-state region.
-
A low proportion of citizens feel that police services are improving. Only 30.6% feel that there is improvement compared to 50.2% in the five-state region, but fear of crime is low vis-a-vis regional and national norms.
-
A high level of support for COP program elements is present. 73.15 of respondents feel that working more with the public rather than the focus on catching criminals is an essential element of COP. There is also high support for citizen co-production of order with police (96.5%).
-
The top law enforcement problems identified by citizens are drunk drivers on the road, illegal drug use and dealing, wildlife violations, home break-ins, vandalisms, physical decay, and child abuse/neglect.
-
There is an intermediate level of social capital in Stevens County. There is an adequate level of volunteerism and neighboring attitudes and citizens have a strong sense of attachment to community.