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About The nugget. (Sisters, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 30, 2019)
Wednesday, October 30, 2019 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon PUBLIC SAFETY: Survey sought public perception of crime Continued from page 1 presented the compilation of the results of a public safety survey conducted in August and September 2019. The intent of the survey was to reach residents and business-owners within the city and gather direct data regarding their feelings on public safety and levels of law enforcement. The City used utility accounts as the survey distribution list, result- ing in 1,681 surveys going out. Through September 24, the City received 617 com- pleted surveys, a 36.7 percent response rate. The City had hoped for a higher rate of return, but acknowledged it was <a robust response rate for a mailed survey.= The information gleaned from the survey is being used to inform decisions by City staff and the City Council regarding future law enforce- ment services in the city of Sisters. The current three- year service contract with the Deschutes County Sheriff9s Office will expire at the end of June 2020. Misley is cur- rently negotiating a new contract with the DCSO to include enhanced quality and quantity of services, which will necessarily increase the cost of the contract. Currently the City pays over $620,000 a year for those services. Citizens will have an opportunity to hear the details of the new contract and expected costs prior to its adoption. According to responses on the survey, there is a willing- ness to pay more for increased and enhanced law enforce- ment service, with 52.5 per- cent of respondents Very Willing or Somewhat Willing, while 23.9 percent were Neutral, and 23.5 percent were Somewhat Unwilling or Very Unwilling. Many of the comments expressed a need to better understand the relation- ship between increased and enhanced law enforcement services and the increase in amount paid by a resident or business. Respondents living in Sisters from one to four years accounted for 33.4 percent of the surveys returned, with 66.6 percent indicating a resi- dency of greater than 5 years. Of the 66.6 percent, 43.3 per- cent indicated greater than 10 years. violent crimes are Minor or No Problem, with 55 percent Not a Problem. " Illegal drugs as a prob- lem is seen by 31.2 percent to be Major or Moderate, 41.9 percent Minor or No Problem, and 26.9 percent Don9t Know. " Alcohol-related offenses were rated Minor or Not a Problem by 50.3 percent, a Major Problem by 25.5 per- cent, 24.2 percent Didn9t Know. " A majority of respon- dents Didn9t Know if domes- tic violence or child abuse were problems, with only about 6 percent SURVEY: PERCEIVED THREATS TO PUBLIC SAFETY considering them Major or Moderate problems. Major/Moderate Don’t Minor Problem or " Traffic safety as Problem Know Not a Problem a Major or Moderate problem garnered Property Crimes 53.7 percent and 43.4 as Minor or Not a Problem. " 60.7 percent view public disorder Violent Crimes offenses as Minor or No Problem. Based on several of the quantitative Illegal Drugs questions, people gen- erally feel very safe in Sisters both during the day and at night, are not worried Alcohol and about being a victim of crime. However, a little under half of respondents (44.5 Domestic Violence percent) reported feel- ing Sisters is Less Safe over the past 12 months, while Stayed the Same (34 percent) Child Abuse and Don9t Know (20.2 percent) were the next largest answers 4 only 1.3 percent chose Traffic Safety Safer. Scaled questions, with 0 strongly dis- agree and 10 strongly agree, reflected the Public Disorder following averages: " Sisters is a good area to raise children 9.01 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 " I am happy to PERCENT live/work here 9.20 INFOGRAPHIC BY LISA MAY " People in Sisters • Re-Roof & New Construction • Composite, Metal, Flat & Cedar Shake Products • Free Estimates • Transferable Warranties • 10-Year Workmanship Guarantee Family Owned & Operated for 19 Years 541-526-5143 ccb#203769 When asked to identify the one biggest threat to public safety in Sisters, 50.2 percent chose traffic, followed by property crimes at 22.5 per- cent and drugs at 12.8 percent. Rankings for each type of crime, as to whether respon- dents considered it a major, moderate, minor, no problem, or didn9t know, the following figures tell the story: " Property crimes are con- sidered a Minor Problem or Not a Problem by 63.4 percent. " 7 4 . 1 p e rc e n t th in k can be trusted 8.47 " I share responsibility for the quality of life and safety in Sisters 9.30 (highest rating) " I have been active in helping to improve the qual- ity of life and safety in Sisters 7.00 Over 50 percent of respon- dents rated the current DCSO services as Very Effective or Somewhat Effective, while 22 percent indicated Neutral, 17.6 percent Needs Some Improvement, and 7.1 percent Needs Major Changes. Throughout the written comments, the themes of wanting more deputies and patrols, and more interaction with and visibility of offi- cers were repeated. The calls for establishing a municipal police department were far fewer. Two of many comments collected in the open-ended comment section reflect the majority public opinion. <Sisters is a wonderful, safe community. Safety and low crime rates have as much to do with its citizens being involved as law enforcement. The community must con- tinue coming together and not rely on City structures alone to solve our issues.= <Growth in Sisters tells me that enhanced law enforce- ment will be necessary to maintain our very satisfactory quality of life and safety.= Misley closed out his executive summary: <Overall, the City appreciates those who took the time to fill out the survey to help us better understand public sentiments and law enforcement needs, and ultimately provide tai- lored services on behalf of the community.= The City plans to release crime statistics to the public to compare them with per- ceptions of public safety as reflected in the survey. For a copy of the raw survey data, contact City Recorder Kerry Prosser at kprosser@ci.sisters. or.us or call City Hall at 541-549-6022. ! s o G aw O 16 l t u S ’ A D O K A T 5 0 2 6 8 - . 4 1 - 54 9 20 W . y w H 425 o Bi-Mart Next t