At a recent Bend City Council work session, City of Bend Police Chief Mike Krantz presented a summary of the results of the Department’s bi-annual public safety survey, titled the 2023 Community Attitudes Survey.
The statistically valid, anonymous survey was conducted by Portland State University. PSU randomly selected 10,000 households for the survey. Approximately 14 percent of those who received the survey link completed it. The survey addressed a variety of topics, including perceptions of safety in our community, public safety concerns of Bend residents, and trust in and willingness to cooperate with Bend Police.
This year, a slightly higher percentage (79 percent) of respondents identified the Bend Police as trustworthy, compared to 2021 (75 percent). Twice as many respondents indicated that their trust in the Department had increased over the past 12 months compared to those reporting a decreased trust.
Most respondents said the Department did a good or very good job building trust over the previous 12 months, were satisfied with any interactions they’d had with Bend Police, and more than nine in ten said they’d be willing to contact Bend Police if they saw a crime take place or they’d been victimized.
Nearly a third of respondents said they feel less safe overall compared to last year, and they rated Bend PD less favorably in reducing crime and traffic crashes compared to 2021.
One of the notable findings in the survey was that the Bend Police’s response to the Safeway active shooter incident in August 2022 helped to increase trust in the Department.
Quality of life concerns primarily related to homelessness, substance abuse, minor crimes and mental health issues, as well as a drop in the perceived safety in the city, were identified as community concerns. Drug and alcohol offenses were the issues most highly rated as “major problems.”
People can find the results of the survey on the Community Resources | City of Bend (bendoregon.gov) page.
