Survey results: Crime reduction picked as top priority for CPD during search for next chief
COLUMBIA, Mo (KMIZ)
A new survey from the City of Columbia shows 80.82% of respondents believe that reducing crime should be the highest priority for Columbia's next chief of police.
The City hired Public Sector Search and Consulting, Inc., a search firm that specializes in recruiting police executives and managing the complex search process, according to a July press release.
The City has released the names of the final four candidates:
- Nathaniel Clark, former public safety director and chief of police, Forest Park, Georgia;
- Dan Haley, a major in the Human Resources Division in Kansas City, Missouri;
- Jill Schlude, assistant police chief of the Columbia Police Department
- Michael Zeller, deputy police chief in Greeley, Colorado.
A community forum with all four candidates will be held 6 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 18, at Columbia City Hall.
The City is looking for a new police chief after Geoff Jones retired on Aug. 1. Matt Stephens was named the interim chief. City spokeswoman Sydney Olsen previously said the City was on track to fill the position by November.
ABC 17 News obtained a summary report of a community survey about the next police chief, which took input from 1,048 people. The survey asked six questions which included:
- Please select the five (5) QUALIFICATIONS you think are the most important when choosing the next Chief of Police for the City of Columbia.
- Please select up to five (5) of the following potential priorities that you believe should be the “Highest Priority” for the Columbia Police Department.
- Please select up to five (5) LEADERSHIP QUALITIES you believe are most important when selecting the next Chief of Police.
- The City Manager is responsible for appointing the next Chief of Police. Is there anything else you would like the City Manager to consider when he makes this appointment?
- Do you live in the City of Columbia?
- Please check the categories that best describe your relationship with the City of Columbia.
The data shows that the majority of people feel that the most important qualifications are reducing crime (79.95%), experience recruiting and retaining personnel (67.56%), practicing transparency and openness (56.11%), and having a track record of building community trust (54.87%). None of the other 10 qualifications listed received at least 35%.
Reducing crime proved to be a recurring theme in the survey. Crime reduction was selected by 80.82% of respondents as what they believe should be CPD's highest property.
The next-highest response was building trust in the community at 60.69%, followed by strengthening police/community partnerships at 56.87%, community policing and problem solving at 53.15% and holding officers/staff accountable at 49.14%. No other responses received at least 35%.
Aside from reducing crime, honesty was what the majority of people polled viewed as the most important quality of the next police chief. Honest, integrity and character were selected by 81.20% of respondents. No other quality listed in the survey received at least 50%, with “promotes the development of staff, training, and succession planning” coming the closest at 47.61%.
When asked if respondents lived in the City of Columbia, 84.04% said yes.
When asked about their relationship with the city, 82.74% of respondents said they live in the city, 71.43% said they work in the city, 14.86% said they own a business in the city and 3.45% said they visit the city, but don't live or work in the city.
View the full survey results below:
