The Power Of Feedback in Community Policing

The Power Of Feedback in Community Policing

Group of people talking

Feedback refers to the act of listening, analyzing, and thinking about the optimum solutions to function better. It is also a way to offer positive criticism and let individuals see what they can change for improvement. 

As a law enforcement officer, gathering feedback helps you know more about the concerns of the continuously changing community around you. One method to do that is through conducting surveys, may it be internal or throughout the community. Here are several essential things you must keep in mind to deliver a functional survey.

Establish Your Objectives

Start your survey by asking yourself and your law enforcement body regarding your objectives, such as:

  • How will the survey data help us to improve?
  • What do our internal members need?
  • What does the community love about us, and what aspects they want to change?
  • How can we give enhanced services to the whole community?

Besides these things, you must also decide on other essential matters for a successful feedback gathering. Conducting a survey has many aspects that need your attention, including:

1. Survey Delivery Method

2. Target Individuals

3. Types of Survey Questions

Keep It Short and Straightforward

You might be so into your survey, but sometimes the respondents are not. A significant part of your task is to keep their attention and ensure they complete answering all the questions. However, individuals are less likely to finish long surveys or ones that are hard to understand. 

This is why you must maintain your survey short, simple, that follows a logical order. Utilizing a platform such as Officersurvey helps you do surveys that bring feedback for development.

Determine the Strong and Weak Points

A functional survey gives insights into what your target audience sees as your strengths and areas that need improvement. So, after you receive the results, you must assess and analyze the collected data. This method can help you obtain suggestions and formulate your action. 

You can do it internally, but you can also opt to form strategic partnerships to make the process as efficient and neutral as possible. The following are five steps for an accurate and reliable survey analysis:

1. Organize your gathered data

2. Create a summary of all the data

3. Categorize your data

4. Illustrate the survey results 

5. Read the indefinite survey responses.

Act on the Survey Results

Once done with the analysis, the essential part is to take action based on the gathered feedback. You may do the following:

1. Study the survey results and explain the significant aspects and those that are not.

2. Give prioritization to the things that need immediate action. 

3. You can ask your target individuals again if you don’t know what to act on first.

4. Distribute resources properly. 

Conclusion

As a law enforcement officer, gathering feedback shows the people you consider their fair share of concerns. Also, the feedback obtained from them can help you become better. It is a win-win scenario for both you and them.

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