Megan Agee: Survey - Need for More Services

In an effort to engage the community on public safety issues, the Safety Network organized and implemented a comprehensive survey of community perceptions concerning safety in San Francisco.

In the course of one month, Safety Network community organizers administered approximately 2,400 surveys, making it one of the largest community-driven efforts on public safety. In the course of administering the survey, the community organizers found that community members place a high value on the safety and well-being of their neighborhood.

In the Sunset and Parkside districts, residents, merchants, service providers and other community stakeholders completed a total of 269 surveys. Of those, 38 percent were male respondents and 62 percent were female.

Respondents represented a variety of ages, from teenagers to seniors, with the majority of survey respondents self-identifying as Asian (46 percent), Caucasian (39 percent) and others (15 percent).

Nearly 35 percent of Sunset community members reported feeling unsafe or somewhat unsafe in their neighborhoods. Respondents reported they had either experienced or had been exposed to various forms of unsafe events, most frequently including speeding cars, harassment, drugs, pedestrian injuries, robbery and street assaults.

Sunset respondents reported feeling the least safe when riding public transportation (50 percent) and in neighborhood parks (49 percent).

Survey participants cited a wide range of factors that contributed to unsafe feelings in their neighborhoods, including a lack of traffic enforcement, limited public spaces for recreational activities, gun violence, poor street lighting and unemployment.

Summarizing the survey results from all San Francisco districts, public transportation, local parks and the streets were also listed as the main areas in their neighborhoods where people felt unsafe.Ê San Francisco community members listed the following factors as being the main issues contributing to their feeling unsafe in their neighborhoods: gangs, unemployment, lack of police, the availability of guns, traffic and speeding cars.

The following recommendations from San Francisco survey respondents reinforce the need for more services to our neighborhoods.

First of all, survey respondents placed an emphasis on improving the relationship with police officers. They recommend periodic community town hall meetings with police and City officials; increasing police patrols on bikes, foot and on public transportation; integrating police officers with schools and community centers

Second, survey respondents were able to make a link between positive opportunities for youth and neighborhood safety.ÊThey recommend prioritizing youth development programs in the areas of cultural enhancement, arts, sports and entertainment and by enhancing professional development and employment training.

Additionally, since San Francisco is a city that has a rich history of supporting its diverse communities, survey respondents were consistent in their support of language education and immigration services; services for seniors; promotion of faith-based groups and services to connect families and communities.

The Safety Network believes that everyone has the right to feel safe, and through this community-driven process, the organization aims to directly engage the community in identifying and solving public safety issues on a district and citywide level. Safety Network organizers will be working with community leaders to develop an action plan.

The National Council of Crime and Delinquency (NCCD) was commissioned to create the survey and provide the data analysis for the report. The Safety Network Program is funded through the Mayor's Office of Criminal Justice. The full results of the Public Safety Survey are available at www.safetynetwork.org.

For more information about the survey, contact Quintin Mecke at (415) 505-2417.

Megan Agee is a community organizer with the Safety Network Program, located at the Sunset Neighborhood Beacon Center.