Denver Police Publish Customer Satisfaction Survey Results

Denver Police Publish Customer Satisfaction Survey Results

Published on June 27, 2024

Denver - Thursday, June 27, 2024 - Today, the Denver Police Department (DPD) is publishing results from two separate surveys for community review.

"To best serve each neighborhood in Denver, we need to know how people feel about safety and the work we are doing every day in our community, and these surveys are a valuable tool in tailoring our efforts to help meet those needs and expectations," said Denver Chief of Police Ron Thomas.

The Denver Public Safety Survey gathered resident responses for seven weeks beginning October 22, 2023, to assess residents' top safety concerns and the most prominent public safety themes shared by participants, and to measure community perceptions of public safety in Denver, such as:

• Police legitimacy
• Resident participation in public safety initiatives, such as neighborhood watch, police advisory councils, community meetings, etc.
• Neighborhood social cohesion/connections
• Perception of low-level misdemeanor /public order crimes
• Fear of crime

The anonymous survey, which gathered data for each of Denver's 78 neighborhoods, was conducted independently by Dr. Jacqueline Helfgott, Director of the Seattle University Crime and Justice Research Center. Residents can review survey results at the citywide level and for the neighborhood in which they live or work.

DPD is evaluating the neighborhood-specific issues identified by participants and is working to create tailored neighborhood safety plans to address those challenges while continuing to engage with residents regarding their concerns and possible solutions.

Key takeaways from the Denver Public Safety Survey:

• DPD rated high citywide regarding legitimacy (58%).
• The number one most consistent public safety concern was the lack of police capacity. People want more police officers in their neighborhoods.
• The most prominent theme in the narrative comments was traffic safety.
• 6,341 surveys were completed during the seven-week survey period.

The extensive results compiled by Dr. Helfgott and her research team can be reviewed here. DPD is planning to conduct another Denver Public Safety Survey in the 4th Quarter of 2024, pending the acquisition of grant funding for the project.

The Denver Police Department launched its second survey method on November 9, 2023, which continues collecting responses daily. The SPIDR Tech customer service program was launched in partnership with Denver 911 to enhance communication with those who call requesting police services by sending automated SMS and/or email messages to callers regarding updates on the police response and the outcome of their call, including when officers' arrival is delayed. The SPIDR Tech program also sends a survey invitation to callers to measure their satisfaction with the Denver 911 call takers and responding Denver Police officers, providing community members another way to share feedback with the agencies. The survey results are then used to measure public opinion and improve customer service.

Key takeaways from the customer satisfaction surveys are:

• 85,260 surveys have been completed since November 9, 2023.

• 71% of respondents indicated the reason for their call was resolved to their satisfaction, even if they did not agree with the outcome.

• 75% of respondents shared that they were "very satisfied" or "satisfied" with DPD's response time to their call.
  • By comparison, 15.9% of respondents shared that they were "somewhat dissatisfied" or "very dissatisfied" with DPD's response time to their call.

• 90% of respondents were "very satisfied" or "satisfied" with the professionalism of the DPD officer with whom they interacted.

A dashboard detailing the customer service survey results can be viewed on DPD's Performance and Transparency webpage.

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