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GRAND RAPIDS COMMUNITY
CANVASS
On behalf of the Grand Rapids Police Department, the Strategic Planning
Response Team conducted a specific outreach to communities who might
not otherwise have input into the process, (1) because they live in
neighborhoods without strong neighborhood associations, (2) because
of language barriers, and (3) because they would be unlikely to avail
themselves of opportunities to come forward.
Dr. Carl Taylor used scouts from the community to conduct the canvass,
and he and they conducted 100 interviews, whose results are reported
here. The same survey has been given to Neighborhood Associations and
to citizens at some of the Neighborhood Meetings.
CANVASS RESULTS
Question 1 Would you like to have a police facility in your neighborhood?
Yes - 91 responded that they wanted to have a precinct in their neighborhood.
No - 5 responded no, they did not want to have a substation in their
neighborhood.
4 responded that it didn’t matter, that it was more important to have
beat cops in their neighborhood. These four stated that they had no
police presence in their communities.
Question 2 What other city services would you like to see at a facility
in your neighborhood?
Yes - 95 responded that they want other city services in their neighborhood.
See the listing later of services desired.
No or NA - 5.
Question 3 Are you willing to donate your time and talents to make
your neighborhood safer?
Yes - 95 responded that they were willing to support the police with
talent and time to make their communities safer.
No or NA - 5.
Question 4 What changes would you like to see the department make
in the future?
This question had many different responses, divided into the following
topics:
- More police presence in neighborhood
- Want to have an officer on a regular basis, someone that the community
knows as their officer.
- Beat cops, walking in their blocks, getting to know the residents
everywhere on a first- name relation
- Want officers to live in Grand Rapids
- More Spanish-speaking officers
- Officers to reflect community make-up
- More women officers
- Youth centers, activities for youth, recreational activities
- Crack down on gangs
- More bikes activities with bike officers and youth
- Stop harassing minorities, especially using the NPU’s
- Sensitive to needs of elderly citizens
- Putting domestic abusers in jail for longer times
- Stop cops from staying in black community all the time
- Get rid of illegal guns with bad youth
- Stop the drag racing on side streets
- Pit bull fights in the future
- Get the prostitutes from doing sexual things in the alley where
kids can see
- Make the young punks stop the loud booming rap music
- Get rid of the Dirty Mac’s
- Train the police in how to talk to people
- Get some training for dispatchers; they are rude
- Nobody stops the gambling in the alley on Wealthy Street
- Get store owners to stop selling alcohol to minors
- Kill the dope dealers
- People need to know the police as friends, not as the enforcers
- Tear the old abandoned houses down
- Protect us from the dangerous gangs
- Put more police out in the neighborhoods and not in cars
- RESPONSES TO CITY SERVICES WANTED
- Courts
- Zoning office
- Garbage collection/pickup of old furniture, trash
- Abandoned cars
- Housing control
- Parking tickets
- Youth Centers
- Building inspectors
- Welfare services
- Dental needs
- Licensing and permits
- Gun permits
- Senior citizen office
- Neighborhood Associations
- Social Workers
- Health Clinic
- Emergency Room
- Library Services
- Computer Services
- Automobile licensing
- Church Services
- Counseling for battered women
- Marriage counseling
- Parenting classes
- After-school care
- Music rooms
- Computer games for kids
- Video arcades
- Public Works
- Barber shops
- Banks
- Printing shops
- Phone company
- Pizza shops
Community
Input Index
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