I have had the privilege to serve as a police officer in four states and as Police Chief in three. Overwhelmingly, the women and men I served with were experienced and empathetic public servants. But just like any profession or walk of life, exceptions exist. When those exceptions expose themselves in policing, the consequences are far graver, sometimes tragic, and may lead to national outrage and attention.
As a law enforcement leader, I was always aware of the sacred duty I was holding and the magnitude of the impact my actions could have on the community and individuals within it. As a result, my colleagues and I have strived to hire, train, and retain only those driven by a desire to serve and be humbled by and respectful of their power.
At its core, this means people who truly care about the residents they serve and are eager to hear from the community. They do not shy away from feedback; they invite and embrace it to help them improve their work.
The private sector has been using survey tools to solicit service feedback for decades. It is time for the same mindset to be applied to policing.
One such way is the use of experience surveys. Experience Surveys for law enforcement allow police to assess their performance by measuring the satisfaction of their community with their service. By deploying the survey automatically after an interaction with a resident, police can move beyond anecdotal information and get actionable data that can inform their plans, improve their service, and contribute to building trust.
Feedback and data are not an end in themselves; they are a means to an end. Police departments can benefit from receiving data on a regular basis in the following ways:
Satisfaction surveys for law enforcement are crucial for improving services and in so doing, enhancing trust between police and their communities. A concrete and measurable score is a necessary element of improvement and assessment of impact. But beyond being a crucial tool for self-assessment, improvement, and measurement, Experience Surveys for policing are also a critical statement of intent and commitment - to accountability, self-reflection, and care for the community and what its members have to say.