Report Summary
This report summarises the work of the SPA and Police Scotland's Community Confidence Action Research Project in Wick.
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5. Evaluation
To evaluate the initiatives the following approach was taken:
A survey conducted between December 2023 and January 2024, mirroring one conducted in April and May 2023;
Conversations with community representatives.
The survey contained 15 questions and ran from 4th December 2023 to 28th January 2023.
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 Wick/Caithness population and should be considered indicative only.
Key findings - Survey
Over half of respondents were unaware of any of the initiatives undertaken by local policing. Respondents felt that the police need to promote/advertise their efforts more effectively.
Respondents reported having lower levels of trust and confidence in the police compared with 7-8 months earlier.
Awareness of initiatives seems to have been a key determinant: those who were aware of at least one of the initiatives had higher levels of trust and confidence in the police than those who were not aware.
People continue to say that Wick has a strong sense of community, however the proportion saying this has fallen.
Issues raised about Wick reference ongoing antisocial behaviour matters that do not appear to be being tackled, a town centre increasingly feeling neglected and abandoned, a perceived increase in drug-dealing, and a sense that centralisation of the police service and other public services is leading to poorer levels of service.
Community Reflections
When asked about the research project and their experience of participating, people said that they found the conversational sessions useful and appreciated that time was being taken to organise meaningful conversations rather than simply seeking ill-prepared and off-the-cuff inputs.
Participants had commented about the low level of turn-out for events relative to the number of people completing surveys online and suggested that more thought is given to running conversational events outside of the working day. Participants welcomed the second set of community conversations extending into the early evening and hosting multiple sessions.
In terms of timeframes some people highlighted that three months is perhaps not enough time for the test of change to be noticed by people, and therefore it is too early to say whether it could help to improve confidence.
Overall people reported that it was good to see the police listening and responding to community needs.
