Moose Jaw Police Service releases community survey results

In an announcement
on Thursday, the Moose Jaw Police Service released key feedback from their
policing and community safety survey. This is the first survey to be done in 10
years. 418 Moose Javians were asked about their opinion of their police force,
along with their top safety concerns for the city – the first of its
kind in 10 years.

Overall, the survey shows
that Moose Javians have a mostly positive view of the police service, something
the mayor echoes. 

“I‘m so
proud of the approach and the attitudes that our men and women, our officers on
the street, have towards respecting the people who live in this community,” said
mayor Glenn Hagel. 

The survey comes
hand in hand with the force’s new strategic plan, which emphasizes respect and
community partnerships in the fight against crime. It emphasizes respect and
community partnerships in the fight against crime. It also marks a cultural
change for the Moose
Jaw police, especially when it comes to dealing with
non-violent crimes like vandalism, which police say is an area that still needs
a lot of attention – but not necessarily by traditional methods of policing.
 

“Even though they’re
difficult to come at from a hard crime kind of approach, an arrest and detention
type of approach, they are more likely to be dealt with, what are youth doing,”
said police chief Dale Larsen.  

And yet, issues like
traffic safety remain a top concern for residents here.
 

“The other day I was
following a police officer and there was a guy in front of him that did a u-turn
where there was a sign that was, ‘no U-turn,’ and he wasn’t stopped,” said Moose
Jaw resident Dan Thomas. 

“I’ve been… almost
hit several times by drivers that aren’t paying attention to stop signs when
they’re making a right hand turn,” said resident Alexander
Falcon. 

Police say photo radar
might make some intersections along Highway 1 safer, but that would still need
cooperation from the province. In the meantime, Moose Jaw’s mayor says that for the most part,
he is satisfied with the progress the police are
making.