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TERRI D. REEVESChief Lester Aradi is pleased not only with higher resident satisfaction but with guidance in allocating resources.
LARGO - Residents of this mid Pinellas municipality worry about aggressive and drunken drivers on the roads.
They fear crime in their neighborhoods. They worry about a terrorist attack.
And noisy toys - buzzing motor scooters and blaring boom boxes - annoy them.
In February, the Largo Police Department mailed about 8,000 surveys to residents asking them to rate department performance, rank the force's tasks in order of importance and share comments and concerns. The post office randomly distributed the surveys and 803 residents took the time to respond.
Police Chief Lester Aradi said he read every one of them.
"The results weren't surprising because they mirror the calls I get every day," he said. "But they help us to target our resources as we are constantly asked to do more with less in these tough economic times."
With a 10 percent response rate, he felt the results were statistically valid. What thrills him is how residents rated the overall effectiveness of the Police Department.
In 2001, shortly after his arrival from Illinois, 10 percent of residents gave the department a "poor" rating in a similar survey. That number has dropped to 2 percent.
"I am delighted," he said. "Ninety percent of the community said our overall effectiveness is "excellent' or "good.' That is up from 79 percent," he said.
Respondents also reported an improved perception of safety in their neighborhoods. More than half stated they felt very safe and only 3 percent said they felt unsafe, as opposed to 9 percent in 2001.
Those who have had contact with law enforcement officers were a bit more positive this year when rating the officers' competency, demeanor, fairness and courtesy. Results show more "good" ratings and about 5 percentage points fewer "poor" ratings than in 2001. Roughly six of 10 respondents gave an "excellent" rating in all four categories.
"This pleases me to no end," Aradi said. "Customer service is important and something we are always working on."
Most respondents are still worried about crime. Nearly half worried about becoming a victim of a serious crime - burglary, robbery, or sexual assault.
When asked to prioritize police tasks, respondents said the department should focus on the bad drivers and criminals and worry less about ordinance violations such as knee-high grass, watering violations and parking tickets.
In the comments section, people were concerned about red-light runners, teen drivers, and road rage.
"The traffic is wild here," one person wrote.
Although most people wanted officers to spend their time chasing bad drivers, they also wanted more police presence in neighborhoods.
"You have to find a balance between driving around in neighborhoods and making the roadways safer," Aradi said.
People worried about drug abusers, thieves and child molesters. They wanted to see more drug and violence prevention in schools.
A few mentioned race relations.
"Focus on improving race relations in Largo should be the highest priority, yet it was not even on the task list. Doesn't that omission truly speak to the problem?" one wrote.
Aradi said race relations were not mentioned because police do not get many complaints in that area.
"The first policy I made when I came (to Largo) was prohibiting racial profiling," he said.
Many commended police on their efforts. Some looked forward to the next Saturday breakfast with the chief, which is June 19.
In the survey, even the health conscious expressed their view.
"Officers should stay in good physical shape. I've seen a couple with fat tummies," the respondent wrote.