Perceptions Of Safety Survey Gets Underway

Perceptions Of Safety Survey Gets Underway

Rotorua District Council (RDC) is encouraging Rotorua residents to take part in the district’s annual Perceptions of Safety Survey which gets underway this week.

Local company APR Consultants is conducting the survey for the council over the next few weeks through telephone questionnaires of 400 randomly selected Rotorua residents, and is available online for the wider community to give personal views of safety in Rotorua. The survey also asks about residents’ awareness of local safety initiatives and about any experiences they may have personally had with crime.

Rotorua district councillor Merepeka Raukawa-Tait, portfolio lead for the council's People Strategy, is urging locals to participate in the survey.

“If you’re one of the Rotorua residents contacted by APR by telephone, please take a few minutes to provide us with your comments. But if you’re not contacted as part of the telephone survey you can still participate online as we’re keen to ensure a wide range of residents have the opportunity to give their views about safety in and around Rotorua.

“Information compiled from the survey will help us to evaluate the success of existing community safety projects and is used for forward planning, such as development of our People Strategy. It will also give us an indication of any areas that may need more attention or where more support is needed for our community,” said Councillor Raukawa-Tait.

The survey is for residents aged 15 years and over. However because of the challenge of capturing youth views through traditional survey methods such as calling home telephone numbers, focus groups will also be set up this year specifically so young people can contribute to the Perceptions of Safety Survey.

Councillor Tania Tapsell, who leads the youth strand of the council’s People Strategy, said she strongly encourages local young people to take-up the opportunity to have their opinions heard.

“Previously youth have been targeted as a 'problem.' This is their chance to show they can be part of the solution, and we’d love to know what they think.”

The survey is available on RDC’s website rdc.govt.nz, APR’s websiteaprconsultants.co.nz, Working4youth website working4youth.co.nz, and through the Treasure Rotorua Facebook page.

Results are expected to be available by the end of June 2014.

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