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How was our service?

A customer satisfaction survey was conducted for the Department of Public Safety to measure how the University Community perceives the Department, its personnel and the level of crime on campus. The survey was distributed January 5th through the 19th, 2005 via e-mail to faculty, staff and students. 115 individuals completed the survey with the majority of the respondents being staff 63%) followed by faculty (34%) and students (1%).

Results

The majority of the respondents rated the Department as GOOD TO EXCELLENT (85%) with 10% ranking it as AVERAGE and 7% FAIR TO POOR. The majority had requested some service from Public Safety during Fall 2004 with those requests varying from reporting a crime (14%), sought medical assistance (7%), needed assistance with their vehicle (16%), lock/unlock a door (27%), responded to an alarm (27%), brought a problem to an administrator (35%) or other (38%).

When asked if the Public Safety staff members by position were courteous when dealing with the respondent, in all cases a high percentage (94%) employee was rated as courteous or no opinion was offered. Those who rated the staff as discourteous varied by position with the police officers receiving the least (0%) to administrators with the highest (7%).

In terms of crime, the majority of respondents (69%) perceive the level of crime on campus as remaining the same or decreasing since they came to West Georgia. The remainder feel that crime has increased. However, the majority state that they have not limited their activities on campus nor changed how they move about the campus (85% versus 15%). No one has considered crime at UWG to be significant enough to consider moving to another University.

The survey also questioned how safe respondents' felt when walking across campus during the day compared to at night. During the day, 93% stated they were not concerned, and 0% stated they were very concerned. However at night, 29% were not concerned while 53% stated they were concerned and 18% very concerned. When asked if during the day they were concerned about being a victim of physical assault, 92% said they were not concerned, while 8% said they were concerned and no one stated they were very concerned. However at night, 41% stated they were not concerned while 42% were concerned and 18% were very concerned.

Comments Offered

The comments offered as part of the survey centered around increasing the enforcement of the parking code and on increasing the number and visibility of the police officers, especially at night. Several commented that they have not seen an officer at night. There is also a request for more educational programs related to crime prevention and a suggestion for a student patrol which could offer escorts at night.

Response

Public Safety is currently involved in the following projects:

1. The Bike Patrol is being reworked to provide greater visibility on campus during the night hours. Additional officers are being assigned to the unit and will patrol around the academic buildings as well as the residence halls.
2. The Bike Patrol is being delegated the responsibility for more crime prevention programming that will be offered to students as well as the faculty and staff. Programs are being developed this summer with the intention of having them ready to present as soon as the students return.
3. A third officer has been assigned to Investigations which will allow Public Safety to follow-up on more crimes and maintain better contact with victims.
4. Both the Parking and Uniform Division have been short on personnel most of this semester. New employees are being hired which will allow for greater visibility and increased enforcement of state law and the parking code.