Nearly 80 per cent of people think Delta police are doing a good or excellent job, according to recently released survey results.
That’s compared to almost 40 per cent who feel the same can be said for police Canada-wide.
On Thursday (April 17), the Delta Police Department released the key findings of its 2024 Community Survey.
Taking place every three years as part of the DPD’s ongoing commitment to transparency and community engagement, according to a press release, the survey measures public perceptions of policing services, community safety priorities, and key areas for improvement.
While the DPD has been conducting these surveys for some time, recent changes to the British Columbia Provincial Policing Standards (BCPPS) require police agencies to conduct community satisfaction surveys at least once every three years, using a standardized set of questions developed by Public Safety Canada and endorsed by the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police.
The DPD’s survey combined the required BCPPS questions with additional content specific to local priorities, covering areas such as trust and confidence, service performance, future policing impacts, body-worn cameras, and community priorities.
In all, the survey measured public sentiment across 12 key service areas, “providing valuable insights into community priorities and expectations,” according to a DPD press release.
“We greatly appreciate the community’s input,” Chief Const. Harj Sidhu said in a press release. “Your feedback guides our priorities and ensures we continue providing effective, community-focused policing.”
The 18-page “key findings” document released Thursday doesn’t include complete results of the survey, but does offer a look at how the majority of respondents answered each of the questions.
One of the BCPPS core questions asked to what extent respondents agreed or disagreed with seven statements about police. Slightly over 69 per cent of people strongly agree that police make decisions based on facts, and just over 63 per cent strongly agree that police are dealing with things that matter to the community.
About 60 per cent strongly agree that police provide the same quality of service to all citizens, while around 75 per cent strongly agree that police treat people with respect, and 81.5 per cent strongly agree that they generally support how the police usually act.
A similar number strongly agree that they feel a moral duty to follow police orders, while 90 per cent strongly agree that they would help police if asked.
When asked how often police in their neighbourhood exceed their authority, 45.4 per cent said never or almost never, 31.9 per cent said rarely, 12 per cent said sometimes, eight per cent said most of the time, and 2.8 per cent said always or almost always.
Nearly three-quarters of those surveyed said the DPD is good to excellent at responding quickly to calls for assistance, while 68 per cent said the department is good to excellent at resolving violent crimes.
The survey also found strong support for the DPD’s use of body-worn cameras, with 86 per cent of respondents saying they are somewhat or very important. The DPD noted this support was consistent across demographics, including age, gender and area of Delta where respondents live.
On the topic of diversity factors, 86 per cent think a range of abilities among DPD officers to be very or somewhat important, compared to three per cent who do not think it important at all (the remainder were neutral on the subject). Sixty-seven per cent believe knowledge of languages other than English is very or somewhat important, while 17 said it is not.
Just over half of respondents thought having a range of ages among officers is very or somewhat important, while 17 per cent said it was not not, and a similar number found it important for there to be an equal number of male and female officers, compared to 26 per cent who think it’s unimportant.
Thirty-eight per cent said a range of religious beliefs among officers is important, while 33 per cent said it isn’t, and 30 per cent think individual officers’ economic status is important, compared to 28 per cent who said it isn’t. As for an officer’s sexual orientation, 29 per cent think it’s important, while 36 think it is not.
The survey found most respondents rely on social media, local newspapers, online news, TV news and friends/relatives to get their information (82, 78, 75, 72 and 70 per cent, respectively), but the most trusted sources are the DPD’s website and spokesperson — 62 and 57 per cent, respectively, reported high to very high levels of trust in DPD, though only 51 and 45 per cent of respondents reported getting their information from police sources (website and spokesperson, respectively).
Delta newspapers ranked third overall for high to very high levels of trust (45 per cent). Religious leaders, social media sites and local business leaders had the lowest number of respondents reporting high to very high levels of trust — 12, 15 and 16 per cent, respectively.
Most survey participants said they have little or no direct contact with the DPD: 48 per cent had contact with police only one to three times in the past year, while 37 per cent had no contact at all. Only 15 per cent reported more frequent interactions, usually for specific reasons such as reporting a crime, during traffic stops or while at community events.
Noting that public opinion is shaped by both personal experiences and outside sources of information, the key findings document says those who had contact with DPD were more likely to rate police services positively, while ratings were lower among those who had no contact with police.
“This suggests that direct experience with police services tends to improve public perception, highlighting the importance of meaningful interactions and consistent service delivery,” the key findings state.
Despite statistics showing crime decreasing across most categories, the survey found “perception does not necessarily match reality.”
“This gap between perception and reality shows why strong, consistent communication is so important,” the key findings document states.
“DPD will continue sharing accurate crime data, highlighting positive outcomes, and showing the work being done by the officers. Over time, this will help build public understanding and trust in both community safety and policing services.”
To read the key findings of the DPD's 2024 Community Survey survey, visit deltapolice.ca/2024-community-survey-key-findings.
