APPLETON, WI (WTAQ) – Appleton Police have released results from its 2020 community survey, and they’re feeling good about what they’re seeing.
The 23-question survey was mailed to 2,000 random households (6.5% of city households), with 687 (34.4%) returned.
“I don’t think we could have expected any better results than that in the time that we’re living in,” said Police Chief Todd Thomas.
Among the results, the department found five issues to be the top issues in the city. The top concern – drug abuse.
“There is a huge ripple effect when an individual has a drug abuse problem. That affects family members, employment, co-workers, friends – I think that’s why people recognize the significance of it,” Thomas told WTAQ News. “Drug abuse drives crime. So that has a tremendous impact on our community, and people realize that.”
Numbers 2-4 were inattentive/distracted driving, speeding and reckless driving, and operating while under the influence.
“Traffic complaints always are our most common complaint, right? That’s the one that most people are affected by on a daily basis,” Thomas said.
Domestic violence was ranked fifth.
Meanwhile, a series of other questions gauged how the community felt about the department.
97% feel safe in their neighborhood during the day. 96.5% feel the department is meeting the needs of the community. 94.1% feel the department is “good” or “excellent” at demonstrating integrity and respect. 83.6% do not believe the department should reduce or relocate funding. 74.2% believe the department’s school resource officer program is important for schools and the community
But one question that always piques the interest of the chief is whether people trust the department. 93.5% said yes. Just 0.6% said they don’t. That kind of trust is something Thomas says takes decades to build.
“That comments on not only the team that we have at the Appleton Police Department, but it says a lot about our community. That our community is willing to work with us and give us the opportunity to try to earn their trust. And I think that’s something that’s built up generationally, it’s not something that just happens overnight,” Thomas said.
Approximately 5.4% of respondents identified as Black or Indigenous people of color (BIPOC). In the wake of recent events, their opinions were also a place of curiosity for the chief.
“Over 94% of them felt that we were meeting the needs of the community. Then almost 92% of them trusted us. So that’s not what you’re hearing and seeing in some of the media, but that’s what our people of color in our community have said about our police department,” Thomas said. “It asked them about the work that we’re doing towards racial justice and equity, and 20% of them felt that we weren’t working hard enough. So that is one of the huge takeaways for us – the people that are affected by that feel that we need to do more. So that’s something that we’re going to do. We’re committed to doing that.”
Thomas says the results help the department key in on certain areas where improvement or more focus is needed across the community.
WTAQ’s Casey Nelson contributed to this story.
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