PLAINFIELD — Residents named speeding, burglaries and random gunfire as their top concerns in a recent survey on the police and policing in town.
While many people who took the survey said they didn’t have enough information or interaction with police to answer many of the questions posed, when residents did, they often had contradictory viewpoints. For example, some people thought there was too much being spent on police, while others want more police coverage on weekends.
The survey, issued by the Select Board and conducted by the Plainfield Police Working Group, was open to Plainfield residents 18 and older. Out of a potential 546 respondents, 177 turned in valid surveys — nearly a third of those eligible to do so.
“I’m really pleased that people responded,” said Kimberly Longey, a member of the working group.
The survey was crafted with the input of both the Police Department and the Select Board, with the purpose of guiding the department in forming policing goals and objectives as well as helping the board to hold the police chief accountable to the needs and priorities of the community. Allowing community input was another of the survey’s objectives.
Plainfield employs two full-time officers, including the chief, and two part-time officers. The town budgeted approximately $142,000 for the department this fiscal year.
The 29-question survey asked for residents’ thoughts on such issues as public safety concerns, police coverage levels and the performance of the department.
In terms of the biggest challenges to public safety and quality of life in town, speeding motor vehicles, burglary/theft and random sounds of gunfire were the clear top three concerns of respondents — with speeding being the biggest issue cited.
“The speeding on North Union Street is out of control, and I’ve never seen anyone get a speeding ticket on this road,” wrote one resident. “I’m scared to walk on the road and hold my breath when I have to be out there to get to the trails with my horses.”
The survey also shows a significant concern with limited police availability on weekends. Currently, Plainfield relies on State Police troopers to cover all but five hours on weekends. One commenter questioned why the department’s two full-time officers can’t adjust their schedules to provide coverage every day of the week. “It would give us a more effective response time and cut down on State Police response,” part of that comment read.
On the other hand, slightly more than a third of respondents said the department is overfunded and should reduce its coverage. “I don’t think this size community needs a full time police officer … nor all those cars!” reads one comment.
On the question of funding, the number of respondents wanting funding to stay the same combined with the number wanting a funding increase was greater than the number wanting a reduction, with nearly 43% of respondents saying the department had enough funding or could use more. The same was also true on the issue of coverage, with the combined number of respondents wanting coverage to stay the same or be increased being 48.6%.
Longey noted that the survey indicated that many respondents hadn’t interacted with police over the last three years.
On the question of whether the police were addressing top safety and quality-of-life concerns, 35% of respondents answered that they didn’t know or had no opinion. On a similar note, 40% had the same response on whether police respond in a timely manner to emergency calls, nearly 59% gave that response to whether calls to the police were answered professionally, and 67% gave that response to whether a complaint against a town police officer would receive a fair, objective and timely response.
The survey resulted in substantial discussions at the March 8 Select Board meeting, which drew a large crowd that was appreciated by Howard Bronstein, administrative assistant for the Police Department and a former selectman.
“That was the best part,” he said.
In terms of the survey results, Bronstein said he had expected to see a variety of views, and that expectation was met.
Rebecca Coletta, who serves on both the Select Board and on the police working group, said the survey will engender good discussion about policing and public safety.
“This is creating discussion,” she said. “And that’s what’s important.”
The working group plans on releasing its recommendations on policing in the near future, Longey said.
Bera Dunau can be reached at bdunau@gazettenet.com.