Alton Community Relations Commission Chair Peter Hough
(Photo courtesy of Alton Mission)

The City of Alton this week wrap up a first-of-its-kind citizen survey on police-community relations.  City officials say survey is central to a unique effort designed to produce a “roadmap” to a more peaceful community.

Alton residents can take part in the “City of Alton Community Policing Survey” online on the city website  (www.cityofaltonil.com/blog/details/city-of-alton-community-policing-survey) throughNov. 30). Paper copies of the survey are available at the office of Mayor Brant Walker in Alton City Hall, 101 E.3rd St.

“In support of our mission, the City of Alton is committed to providing efficient services to improve the quality of life of its citizens and to provide a safer, more vibrant and peaceful environment. Our goal is to build upon our current success and develop a bright future for our community,” Walker explains on the website. “This survey will provide our residents the opportunity to provide their candid ideas and concerns.”

While targeted largely to Alton residents, the survey is open to local business owners, employees of local business, and other interested parties, the survey form indicates.

In addition to basic demographic information (such as age and gender), the 20-question survey asks residents to list three-to-five “hopes” and “fears” for the city. Citizens are asked to rate their relationship with Alton Police Department (from “very poor” to “very good”), as well as the quality of service provided by the department and their level of trust in the city’s law enforcement officers. It also asks respondent whether the city is doing an adequate, or inadequate, job in addressing specific law enforcement issues including: alcohol- and drug-related offenses, assaults and sexual assaults, loud noise, traffic and parking, and animal control.

Alton City Mayor Brant Walker

The survey also asks citizens to suggest specific things that police can “start doing” and “stop doing” take to improve the quality of law enforcement in the city — as well as specific things citizens can “start doing” and “stop doing” to improve the quality of life in Alton.

The citizen survey represents the second phase of a three-part program in improve police-community relations, according the Alton Community Relation Commission (CRC) and Riverbend Ministerial Alliance, which have organized the effort.

Under the first phase of the project, Alton Police Department completed a similar survey last month.

A focus group of community stakeholders will now be convened to assess the results of both surveys, as well data from Alton Police Department records.

The focus group, in conjunction with a law enforcement expert from the University of Missouri-St. Louis (UMSL) and a consulting firm, will now develop recommendations for improved police-community relations in Alton, along with “an implementation roadmap,” Mayor Walker explains.

Retained to lead the entire project are former St. Louis Police Chief Daniel Isom, now UMSL’s Endowed Professor of Policing and the Community, and Steve Finkelstein, described on his company website as an organizational “process expert” with the St. Louis consulting firm, Experience on Demand.

In his capacity with UMSL, Isom, over recent years, has assisted in police-community relations-building projects in several U.S. cities.  He was a member of the Ferguson Commission, appointed by Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon in 2014 to research underlying causes of police-community tensions in St. Louis County and the neighboring City of St. Louis.

However, the Alton community relations project is the first-of-its-kind, according to Isom.

Alton Police logo

The Alton community relations project is based around SWOT analysis — a Stanford University-developed planning technique used to assess the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats associated with a project or business venture, Isom says.

Finckelstein’s firm provides SWOT analysis and other services to “improve organizational performance” for small-to-mid-sized companies, as well as not-for-profit organizations, according to the company website. Previous clients include Monsanto, the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis and the Ferguson-Florrisant School District in St. Louis County.

The Alton project is also unique in level of cooperation afforded by the city’s police department, Isom says.

Under the first phase of the program, Isom and Finkelstein surveyed all 86 employees of the Alton Police Department from Chief Jake Simmons to patrol officers, jailers, clerical staff and even custodians. The have been given access to all police department crime data and statistics dating to 2006. Generally, Isom says, law enforcement agencies allow only restricted access to their records.

However, like other police community relations projects, success in Alton will depend largely on community participation, according to Alton CRC Chair Peter Hough, who has spearheaded the Alton effort. Isom acknowledges several similar projects in other cities have failed due to lack of community engagement.

— Alton launches police-community relations effort —