Survey results show community support for Lethbridge Police Service

Lethbridge residents are showing strong support for their police service.

According to an Ipsos poll, more than 80 per cent of respondents said they’re happy with policing efforts over the past year.

“That’s exactly what we want. We want our citizens to feel safe and valued, and comfortable dealing with our officers,” said Chief Shahin Mehdizadeh.

But the city’s top cop said there is room for improvement.

“We want to continue to grow on those numbers and make sure more citizens even are happy with our services,” he said.

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The telephone survey poll conducted this summer surveyed 400 Lethbridge residents over the age of 18.

Of the concerns that remain, 14 per cent rated the overall performance as poor, citing high-crime rate and inadequate call responses among the main reasons why.

Those feeling the city is unsafe has gone up seven percentage points from 2022 to 2023. Mehdizadeh said this as a common response across North American cities.

“A lot of it is fueled by drug issues and homelessness, and all the other things that those challenges, the communities face with those issues,” said Mehdizadeh.

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Sarah Amies, Downtown Lethbridge BRZ executive director, said downtown crime continues to be a problem.

“We’re all working together to continue to educate membership and community about crimes of opportunity… and how we can all do our part to keep ourselves safe,” said Amies.

Overall, she said there is a strong relationship with LPS, but business owners in the core would like to see more of them.

“Our ranks in our downtown are very low and so we need more police presence certainly in the downtown, but in the wider community as well,” said Amies.

Mehdizadeh said focus areas for 2024 continue to include drugs and property crimes.

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“The bottom line is that the city is much safer than three years ago, so I think as a community we need to celebrate that,” said Mehdizadeh.

The survey also showed nearly 48 per cent of respondents did not have direct contact with an LPS officer in the last year.

The service will use this data and feedback from town halls to develop its 2024 annual policing plan.

The next town hall meeting is scheduled for Nov. 7 at St. Patrick’s Fine Arts Elementary School, from 6 to 8 p.m.