Apparently, some Vancouver businesses dont like the service of the Vancouver Police Department as much as they used to. Thats according to an annual survey conducted by NRG Research Group for the department that found business satisfaction for 2012 was at 78 per cent.
Which is not bad. But that satisfaction level is down from 90 per cent in 2011.
Why?
Thats a question one of the members of the research group attempted to provide insight into when she recently appeared before the Vancouver Police Board.
Unfortunately, there is no easy answer to why this has gone down, said research consultant Kim Scott.
The decline has left Police Chief Jim Chu and his deputy chiefs scratching their heads. So theyve decided to get the VPDs business liaison officer to investigate and supply more feedback.
You cant hit 50 home runs every year, said Chu, noting he suspects response times and more police presence could be reasons for the dissatisfaction.
Chu was quick to point out that 85 per cent of residents polled in the survey were satisfied with the level of service the VPD provided in 2012.
Every year, the VPD contracts NRG research group to assess the satisfaction of businesses and residents with police. The sample size included 800 residents and 400 businesses. The survey asked residents to provide a single recommendation to the VPD to improve service. The most frequent suggestion, which has been consistent in previous surveys, was to increase the presence and visibility of police in neighbourhoods.
Second to that was for the VPD to increase its transparency, meaning releasing more information to the public.
As for how people get their news about the VPD, the hard-working crew at the Courier is happy to report 32 per cent of respondents across the city say they read it in this paper.
That was higher than The Westender, Globe and Mail and The Province. Note to readers: We also have vancourier.com where many stories police-related and others that you dont see in the print version of the paper are posted online on a daily basis.
Mental health
Police contacts with mentally ill persons continue to consume significant police resources.
Thats a line right out of Police Chief Jim Chus intro to the Vancouver Police Departments annual business plan for this year.
So what is the VPD doing about a crisis that many say is not a police issue, but government oversight?
Lots, according to Chu.
To reduce these contacts, the VPD will create an early warning system and will intervene and collaborate with mental health service practitioners to prevent incidents of violence, he wrote.
In addition, the chief said, his officers will work more closely with Vancouver Coastal Health on various committees, projects and teams to improve mental health services in the city. To that end, he said, the health agencys Assertive Community Treatment program, which took in 21 people in 2012, will be expanded to have three full-time teams this year. And then theres this: The VPD will advocate for more mental health resources at the national level, to both the federal government and police leaders across Canada.
Chu, it would appear, might have more pull than other chiefs across the country on this topic since he happens to be the president of the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police.
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