At the conclusion of 2020, Chief Peenstra established a goal and objective of the Seneca Falls Police Department to create an annual community survey to gauge the police department’s public service to the community. A version of the annual report was originally created and distributed on a county wide basis in response to the 2020 Executive Order issued by Governor Andrew Cuomo regarding the New York State Police Reform and Reinvention Collaborative. During the reform and reinvention planning and completion the Seneca County Police Reform and Reinvention Collaborative Committee asked members of the public to provide their input related to their perceptions of all local police agencies. This survey yielded valuable feedback from the community that our agency would not have otherwise been able to obtain. The results of the reform survey were used to create more effective goals and objectives for the police department.
Although the police reform and reinvention Executive Order did not require the police department to continue this survey annually, Chief Peenstra and members of the Seneca Falls Police Department felt that continuous feedback from our community could only help us become more effective and in tune with the community we serve.
Throughout 2021, multiple members of the police department worked to establish questions that would elicit the best constructive feedback from the community. In December of 2021, the survey was published through multiple social media sources, advertisements posted in Town buildings, press releases to all local news outlets, and the Town’s website. Additionally, the Finger Lakes Times posted an article notifying the public about the survey and encouraging individuals to complete the anonymous survey.
Those who wished to participate in the survey were encouraged to do so online. However, the police department did have paper copies of the survey available to those who did not have internet access. The survey took about ten minutes to complete and was completely confidential. The survey remained open from December 2021 through February 28, 2022. This report summarizes the results of the submitted surveys. The data provided is raw and unedited.
