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Enforcement Program Citizen Survey Methodology
In August 2006, the Washington Department of Fish and
Wildlife (WDFW) Enforcement Program began to devise
a citizen survey to meet the requirements of a Commission
on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA)
standard. The standard requires that agencies seeking
accreditation must conduct a citizen survey at least
once every three years. The survey must include the
following measures: overall agency performance, overall
competency of agency employees, citizens’ perceptions
of officers’ attitudes and behavior, community concern
over safety and security, and recommendations or suggestions
for improvement.
To meet the requirements of this standard, Accreditation
Manager Kimberly Flowers sought the assistance of the
one accredited natural resource law enforcement agency
in the nation: the Delaware Division of Fish and Wildlife.
Major Bayard Holleger, Jr., provided a sample of their
Enforcement Section’s citizen survey that served as
a preliminary template for the WDFW Enforcement Program
survey.
The initial draft of the survey was reviewed and approved
by Chief Bruce Bjork, the Enforcement Accreditation
Committee, Enforcement Captains, Public Affairs Special
Assistant Margaret Ainscough, Strategic Planning Special
Assistant Sue Patnude, and Washington State University
Associate Director of the Division of Governmental Studies
and Services Michael J. Gaffney.
Information Technology Specialist Doug Hoyer adapted
the survey to an Internet-based form for posting on
the WDFW Enforcement Web page. The survey was developed
for on-line completion because it is the most cost-effective
survey method; we hoped to reach a large, statewide
audience; and the data is collected in a manner that
facilitates tabulation and analysis.
The on-line survey became active on May 24, 2007, and
it was available for completion until December 31, 2007.
During that time, we received 2673 responses. Persons
interested in completing the survey on paper were mailed
a copy at their request.
Management Analyst Jonathan Neville compiled the results
data and created the charts and final reports using
Microsoft Office products. The results of this survey
will become a baseline for future surveys.
Major Findings
- Demographics. Most respondents
recreate by fishing, hunting, visiting wildlife, or
harvesting shellfish. The respondents recreating are
primarily made up of 40 to 70 year old residents of
Washington State who have lived in WA for at least
twenty years and have hunted and fished for over ten
years. The top five counties most frequented are King,
Snohomish, Pierce, Grays Harbor, and Cowlitz counties.
- Contact Information. Out of 2673
respondents, 62% had recent contact with Enforcement
Program staff. Overall, 85% of the respondents viewed
their contact with WDFW employees between Neutral
to Very Pleasant. Officers made up the majority of
contacts at 77%, compared to 15% Hunter Education
staff, and 8% being Customer Service employees. Assisting
citizens made up 23% of Officer contacts, while only
5% of contacts resulted in citations.
- Personal Contact Evaluation. In
regards to Officer knowledge and job competence, as
well as attitude, 70% of the respondents gave ratings
of Good or Excellent. In regards to demeanor, Officers
received a 68% rating of Good or Excellent. Appearance
resulted in 78% respondents giving officers a Good
or Excellent review.
- Officer Staffing Levels. While
recreating in Washington, 10% of respondents witnessed
Officers on patrol Often or Always. In contrast, 27%
of participants witnessed violations Often or Always.
Moreover, 65% of survey respondents would like to
see more Officers on patrol and believe that more
officers are most needed in Western Washington, followed
by Eastern Washington. Enforcing Recreational Fisheries,
Hunting/Trapping, Commercial Fisheries Rules and Laws
as well as conducting Public Education and Responding
to Dangerous Wildlife Complaints have been shown to
be the most important priorities of the Enforcement
Program. Overall, 64% of the respondents believe that
there needs to be more Officer presence statewide
and 58% more presence in their most frequently visited
county.
- Overall Evaluation. Only 22% of
the respondents believe that the Enforcement Program
is at least doing a Good job of protecting wildlife
resources while 33% of the respondents believe that
the program is doing a Poor or Very Poor job. In regards
to protecting fish/shellfish resources, the Enforcement
Program had 12% rating of Good or better and a 37%
rating of doing a Poor job or worse. For protecting
public safety, 30% believed that the Enforcement Program
is doing a Good or better job while 24% think the
Program is doing a Poor or Very Poor job. Lastly,
32% of the respondents believe that the Enforcement
Program is doing a Good or Excellent job as a law-enforcement
agency, while 24% believed that the agency is doing
a Poor or Very Poor job.
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