Evaluation

Between 13th November 2023 and 27th December 2023, an evaluation survey was conducted to gather the views of those aged 16 and over on Levenmouth and confidence in policing. Questions were made available online via SPA Citizen Space page and on paper via community organisations with a freepost envelope to the SPA office for returns. There was also the option to request another format if required. In total there were 43 responses to the survey.

Key findings included:
• The majority of respondents didn’t notice any of the initiatives undertaken by local policing;
• Overall, the rate of trust increased between Feb-Mar 2023 and Nov-Dec 2023. However, rates of confidence recorded during this period remained ‘low’. This is similar to the downward trend in confidence documented in SPA national polling between July 2022 and 2023.
• When disaggregated by awareness of initiatives, those who were aware of at least one initiative tended to have high confidence and trust in policing and felt local police were doing a ‘very good/somewhat good job’. Those who were not aware of any initiatives tended to have low confidence and trust in policing and felt local police were doing a ‘somewhat poor/very poor job’.
• A higher proportion of respondents feel Levenmouth does has a sense of community. There was an increase in those who ‘strongly agreed/agreed’ and ‘disagreed’/strongly disagreed’ between FebMar 2023 and Nov-Dec 2023.
• Comments on Levenmouth largely centred around anti-social behaviour, with some mention of police response times, police visibility, drugs, and a lack of police funding.

In January 2024, SPA staff had conversations with representatives from community groups in person and via
Teams to gather feedback on the project. Overall, the project was received positively.
• Members of the Improving Levenmouth Together (ILT) found that the initiatives put in place had a positive impact on the local community. One member commented:
• The project has been of some value and noted that the ILT have worked closely with the police in a range of
areas which have contributed to community cohesion post-COVID.
• The project couldn’t have been done differently in terms of the way it was developed and engaged with the local community. Post-Covid there is more community reluctance to get involved in activities outside their
normal life.
• Their confidence in local policing was not impacted. The ILT has a good relationship with the police with a mutual level of appreciation and trust even outwith the project.
• Officials from the Office of the West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner (OPCC) also visited the area and commended the work of SPA staff and local policing for the dedication and hard work put into the project. OPCC officials considered the findings to be insightful and helpful in supporting their own work in the West Midlands.

It should be noted that due to small sample sizes and the non-representative nature of the samples the findings of these surveys cannot be generalised to the entire Levenmouth population and should be considered indicative only. The full evaluation report is available here on the SPA website.