Superior Police Department Asking Community For Feedback On How To Better Serve City

One northern Wisconsin police department is looking for feedback from the community on how they operate and how well they work with diverse groups.

Superior Police Chief Nick Alexander hopes the survey, conducted by University of Wisconsin-Superior students, will serve as a report card on what they’re doing well and what they could improve.

“For that, we can use to kind of help guide us in our delivery of services and allocation of resources to hopefully match what the community wants,” Alexander said. “The other side, too, is there are going to be questions about interactions with the police department. Were they positive? Have you had contact with an officer, whether it’s a traffic stop or reporting of a crime or just maybe at a community meeting, and how did that go? I want to hear about that.”

Alexander said the community survey is an idea he’s had in mind since he became police chief. He took over in January 2015 following the conclusion of a year-long investigation by multiple agencies into a Superior woman’s allegation that an officer used excessive force during her arrest. He said the survey seeks to answer questions about how the department can better serve residents, as well as the crimes that have impacted their lives.

“We use data to drive our delivery of services,” he said. “There’s 911 calls. There’s reports of criminal activity, the stuff that we respond to, and we have some analytics we can apply to it to see where we should be putting our resources. But, I also think that reaching out to the community and finding out what’s important to them should also be part of that equation.”

Charlie Mahlen is a lead researcher for the survey and is a UW-Superior senior studying criminal justice. He said the survey includes questions about how community members view the effectiveness of police programs, relationships with diverse groups and what priorities police should address in the next five years.

“We are looking to find public opinion regarding various aspects of policing and basically how the Superior Police Department can adapt to the needs of our community,” Mahlen said.

The survey will be available online and results will be shared early next year. Mahlen said they’d like to see at least 1,500 to 2,500 people take part in the city of around 27,000.