The Survey Says: What More and More Communities are Relying on For Feedback During The Search for Their Next Police Chief

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about common processes used to hire police chiefs today.  In that post, I touched on some of the public methods being used.  While doing my research for that post, I ran across some survey instruments being used during these public processes.  I thought it would be helpful to examine a few of them.

Some of the surveys have a deadline on their availability due to the timeliness of the information.  If you happen to read this at a later point in the future and the link to one of the surveys doesn’t work, I apologize.

General Information

Eugene, Oregon is close to selecting their next police chief.  On March 13^th, they will hold a community panel with selected community members.  A community forum open to the public will follow the panel discussion.  Feedback and input can be submitted via email at epcrecruit@ci.eugene.or.us

Many police chief searches today solicit input from citizens through a similar process using a dedicated email address.

Surveys About Community Expectations of Next Chief

While searching for their next police chief, the County of Albemarle designed a survey instrument on their website seeking input from the public with six specific questions.  Check out the questions below.

http://www.albemarle.org/upload/images/webapps/surveys/policechiefsearch/

The Seattle Police Department is currently searching for their next police chief.  In addition to holding many community meetings and workshops, Seattle is asking for public input through a survey instrument with four questions and several optional demographic questions.

Find the survey at the link below.

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/seattlepolicechief

Citizens can also provide input via email at chiefsearchinfo@seattle.gov

In 2017, Chattanooga searched for their next police chief.  Although the link to their survey instrument doesn’t work now, the results of that survey are online and available today.  I believe the information can be quite helpful for police chief candidates in other cities as well.

Follow the link below to check the results out.

http://newschannel9.com/news/local/chattanooga-police-chief-survey-results-released

In 2014, the Phoenix Police Department searched for their next police chief.  Fortunately for future police chief candidates, the exhaustive results are posted online.  See the results below.

https://www.phoenix.gov/citymanagersite/Documents/Results%20of%20Police%20Chief%20Recruitment%20Community%20Survey%20012216.pdf

The City of Oakland conducted an online survey during the recruitment process for police chief back in 2016.  Oakland hired their new chief in 2017.  Again, future police chief candidates can learn a lot from the results of this survey.  See the results below.

http://www2.oaklandnet.com/oakca1/groups/cityadministrator/documents/report/oak061533.pdf

Surveys About Particular Candidates 

As the City of Fort Collins narrowed their search down to the top five finalists for police chief, they published an online survey where citizens could provide feedback or comments on each candidate.  Conducting a survey with questions about specific candidates is highly unusual.  I have not found another in my research.

Click on either link below to access the survey.

http://www.surveygizmo.com/s3/4209183/Police-Chief-Candidates-Feedback-Form

It is now clear that considerable effort is being employed by cities all across the United States to involve the public in search processes for police chief.  Surveys are being used to seek input from larger groups of citizens.  These surveys provide great insight into the wants and needs of the communities where the new police chief will serve.  The surveys guide the City Managers and Mayors conducting these searches.

The results of these surveys can also help police chief candidates understand what communities want in their police chief.  Although some surveys contain specific concerns of a particular community, many surveys share common expectations and desires that are universal.  As a result, police chief candidates can game vital information from reviewing available surveys.

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