Grenadians will from June 14 be given an opportunity to say how they view the services that are being provided to the public by the Royal Grenada Police Force (RGPF).

The Force will be conducting a Quality of Service Survey as part of the development of its Community Policing strategy and initiative. RGPF is hopeful that the information gathered will assist the lawmen in their operational planning, as well as the effective use of resources.

Funding for the survey is being provided through the Public Sector Management Improvement Project (PSMIP) in the Department of Human Resources (DHR) of the Grenada Government.

Speaking at a news conference held at the Ministerial Complex building in the Botanical Gardens on Tuesday, Police Commissioner Fitzroy Bedeau described the initiative as something new to the force.
Bedeau pointed out that the goal is to forge partnership with the public in order to enable the Police to have a better idea as to how citizens feel about the services being provided by the force.

The Commissioner also suggested that the survey can be used as as a measuring tool with respect to the community's perception of the police. Officer in Charge of Community Policing with RGPF, Superintendent Dowlyn Bartholomew said that the lawmen have been working on the survey for quite some time, adding that the initiative will deal with peoples' everyday contact with officers in the Force.

According to Supt. Bartholomew, a total of 380 persons will be interviewed from a list of names of persons within the local Telephone Directory.

Permanent Secretary in the Department of Human Resources (DHR), Beryl Isaac told the ceremony that the police force is presently pursuing a strategy aimed at creating a more meaningful relationship with the public.

Isaac said the survey will establish a baseline as to what citizens think about RGPF and how the police can improve their image in the eyes of the public. The survey will also seek to determine the willingness of the community to establish a partnership with RGPF in combating crimes and criminal elements, as well as provide information to the Community about Community Policing and crime prevention initiatives.
It will also seek to gather information to assist in identifying the impact of crime, traffic and social disorder issues in the country.

The survey will take the form of a random sample of residents throughout the nation who will be contacted via telephone by trained civilian volunteers with no connection to the police. The survey, to be held over a three month period, will be conducted from 6.00-9.00 p.m. daily including weekends.

The information obtained will be analyzed by the Statistical Department in the Ministry of Finance and then made available to the general public for scrutiny.