Monday, March 09, 2009
Over the next few weeks, several hundred Hutt residents will be asked to participate in Council’s first ever ‘perception of safety’ phone survey.
“We’ll be asking people to tell us about any areas around the city where they sometimes feel unsafe and how their feeling of safety could be improved”, says Adrian Peoples, Council’s Safe City Officer.
“Perception of safety is very important for the vitality and wellbeing of our city. If people feel certain places are potentially unsafe, they’re obviously much less likely to use them.
“In a shopping area, this can have economic impacts for local retailers. Feeling unsafe can also prevent residents from using recreation facilities.
“A reputation for being unsafe and uncared for can lead to unwanted activities in an area such as vandalism and graffiti.
“The survey has been prompted by the need to base our safe city work not just on crime figures but on the views of the public about how safe or unsafe areas are.
“The survey results will be used by Council and partner agencies to develop crime prevention and security activities, and to identify physical improvements to enhance safety such as increased lighting.”
Research company Perceptive Insight Limited will be carrying out the telephone survey of 600 residents throughout March and the results will be presented to Council in April.