Background and methodology

Fight Back Against Crime Virginia Highland (FBAC) is a security patrol program staffed by off-duty Atlanta police, supported through voluntary contributions from residents and businesses, and administered by neighborhood volunteers. A short survey was conducted targeting current and prospective members of the program. The goal of the survey was to assist the volunteers who manage the FBAC neighborhood patrol to improve service and increase membership.

The survey was conducted online between January 28, 2015 and February 11, 2015. It was promoted via postings on FBAC’s Facebook Page, Nextdoor, the VHList neighborhood bulletin board on Yahoo, as well as through the Virginia Highland Civic Association’s email newsletter, The Voice.

According to Nextdoor, there are 5,964 households in Virginia Highland. Nextdoor identifies 2,464 members (though there may be multiple members from a single household), 1,808 subscribe to the VHList, two hundred and fourteen people have liked the FBAC Facebook page, and the Voice has a subscription base of about 3,000 with 33% (or 1,000) opening the email. However, there is overlap between these channels, so a definitive understanding of how many Virginia Highland Residents were exposed to the survey is not possible.

The survey was developed by Kay Stephenson with input from Nancy Safay, Catherine Hough, Jim England, and John Wolfinger (all FBAC volunteers), and from Sgt. Clark who manages the officers who work for the patrol. Survey questions included a combination of yes/no, multiple choice, and open ended questions. As a result, not all responses are quantifiable.

Respondents

A total of one hundred and seventy one people responded to the survey and of these it was determined that four did not live in the neighborhood. Also, some respondents chose to skip some questions, but a substantial number did complete the entire survey. We did not gather further demographic information about respondents in the interest of keeping it short.

Note that this survey is not a scientific sampling and the response rate (estimated to be less than 10% of all Virginia Highland residents) is insufficient to predict responses for the neighborhood at large. Rather it offers a quick view of what members and non-members are thinking. Typically such a survey attracts more responses from strong supporters and strong detractors than folks in the middle.

Questions

Question 1 – Are you familiar with FBAC (Fight Back Against Crime) the Virginia Highland neighborhood patrol?

One hundred and sixty two or 94.74% of respondents were familiar with the patrol. Only nine individuals indicated that they were not familiar.

Question 2 – How did you learn about FBAC?

How did you learn about FBAC?

Respondent were offered four likely choices, permitted to select all that applied, and to select “other” and write in how they learned of the program. The responses were spread fairly evenly across neighborhood communication channels lead by hearing from their street captain or another neighbor. The online communication tool Nextdoor, which being the newer of our two communication tools is attracting new and younger residents, had the next best exposure.

In the Other category the two most common responses were:

· Have been a member since inception/Long term resident (nine)

· Yard Sign (eight)

Others responses included VH Voice article, VHCA meeting discussion, and parent association (each with three respondents).

Question 3 – Are you a member of FBAC?

Are you a member of FBAC?

Again there was a very even split between members and non-members. 50% are members and 47.67% are not. Only 2.33% were unsure and based on other responses this could be attributed to residing in an apartment building or condominium, or to a lack of true understand of how FBAC operates.

Question 4 – If you are not a member, please list up to three reasons for not joining.

Response to this question was strong with 81 of 82 non-members providing at least one reason. Because the question was completely open ended – that is all responses were written in by the respondent – it is difficult to analyze quantitatively. However, responses did tend to fall into similar groupings. For example consider the following three responses:

I already pay big taxes for police coverage

I wouldn’t pay for something the city already does

Already paying astronomical property tax that should finance police protection.

These are all very similar responses which have been grouped under the generic response “Public safety should be covered by taxes”. The table below represents the dozen standardized responses with counts for each

Reason	Most Important	2^nd Most Important	3^rd Most Important	Total
Cost/Price	24	7	3	34	22.8%
Need more information or new resident	14	13	2	29	19.5%
Results/Value/Accountability of officers unclear	8	12	9	29	19.5%
No or low visibility of officers and vehicles	8	6	3	17	11.4%
Should be covered by taxes	5	3	1	9	6.0%
Not needed/ Home security system sufficient/ Neighborhood safe	6	2	1	9	6.0%
Insufficient coverage area or hours	2	4	1	7	4.7%
Live in condo/rental/Duplex	5	2		7	4.7%
Difficulty paying/not using technology	1	1	1	3	2.0%
Lack of neighborhood/VHCA support			2	2	1.3%
Forget to sign up		1	1	2	1.3%
Block captains work better			1	1	0.7%

Following are the top responses with representative examples of the specific comments.

Cost/Price

· I heard was unaffordable for retiree

· Strapped for cash – about to have a baby

· Cost. Condo association didn’t want to pay for something we weren’t using

· Live in a condo complex – 27 units, not affordable now

· Show plan for lowering cost with increased membership

Need more information or new resident

· Recently moved to neighborhood

· I don’t fully understand the benefits. I’d call 911 before I called a private cell. An emergency is an emergency

· I honestly didn’t really know about the organization

· Not aware of how to join

· Would like to see hard facts about crimes that have been prevented or stopped

· Unclear if they patrol my street (couldn’t figure it out from website)

· Unaware of full services and costs

Results/Value/Accountability of officers unclear

· I do not see the patrols resulting in the resolution of enough arrests, etc.

· Unaware that it accomplishes anything

· Not sure if it really helps (stats?)

· No real data to suggest that FBAC helps. I’ve never read a story about how it helped

· I’m not sure if it is an actual crime preventative

· I don’t trust the people running it

· I have no evidence that you’ve ever proactively thwarted a crime

· Have heard they are not effective

· No periodic report like MPSA with results

· Bad reviews

· Lack of police accountability – arrests, punching a clock, etc.

No or low visibility of officers and vehicles

· I’ve never seen the patrol car on our street

· Not a visible presence

· Never see the vehicles

· Unmarked cars

· Never see them patrolling

· Lack of officer visibility

· Was a member but never heard form or saw anyone

· I think FBAC is supposed to have marked cars, although I’ve never seen one. I think in the past they patrolled with unmarked cars, which seems to be a waste of time.

Public safety should be covered by taxes

· We already pay taxes for this

· Against policemen working as private security guards

· Home security shouldn’t be privatized

· Already paying astronomical property tax that should finance police protection

· Feel like I shouldn’t have to be obligated to pay more for police protection when our property taxes really are quite high for a 1950 square foot house ($7,900/year)

· Not willing to pay for police protection

· I wouldn’t pay for something the police already does, in an area that’s relatively safe already

Unneeded/Home security system sufficient/Neighborhood safe

· Neighborhood seems safe lately. I was a member during the Charles murder (forgot his last name).

· We already pay for an alarm system

· Investing in home security system

· Alarm system is higher priority for peace of mind

· I already pay for an alarm system – and the APD – why pay for more security?

Question 5 – For those that are members, please list up to three benefits of participation.

Response to this question was also strong with 100% of members providing at least one benefit. Because the question was completely open ended – that is all responses were written in by the respondent – it is difficult to analyze quantitatively. However, responses have been logically grouped as follows:

Benefit	Most Important	2^nd Most Important	3^rd Most Important	Total
Patrols/Neighborhood security/Additional police on streets	35	13	12	60	28.3%
Vacation Home Checks	26	27	6	59	27.8%
Faster response time and direct contact with officers	7	11	13	31	14.6%
Security Alerts/Reports and Statistics	2	9	8	19	9.0%
Crime Deterrent	5	2	2	9	4.2%
Support for community initiative	1	6	2	9	4.2%
Peace of mind	6	1	1	8	3.8%
Officer knowledge of neighborhood	2		3	5	2.4%
Increased property values	1		2	3	1.4%
Alternative to 911 in non-emergency		1	2	3	1.4%
Late night escort home		1	1	2	0.9%
FBAC Sign		1	1	2	0.9%
Patrols during High Crime Times			1	1	0.5%
Supplement officer's income		1		1	0.5%

Following are the top responses with examples of the specific comments.

Patrols/Neighborhood security/Additional police on streets

· To keep neighborhood safer

· Extra eyes on the neighborhood

· Overall added safety of the community

· Safety, it’s a good feeling knowing we have someone driving by periodically

· Dedicated group on the va-hi streets to investigate suspicious activity

Vacation home checks

· House patrols while on vacation

· Security. We know our home is being watched when we are out of town

· Ability to have additional watch during vacation

Faster response time and direct contact with officers

· Having police readily available

· Being able to contact the officer directly

· A local officer to call while waiting 30 minutes for 911 to arrive

· Knowing that an officer can come quickly if needed

· Ability to talk to officers.

Security alerts, reports and statistics

· Learn about current neighborhood security issues

· Info on crime in hood

· Monthly stats

· Listing of crimes

· E-mail updates with information from FBAC officers

· Suggestions to avoid being a victim

Crime deterrent

· Increased police visibility

· Neighborhood crime prevention

· Support efforts to reduce crime in Va-Hi

Support for community initiative

· Wanting to do my part

Question 6 – How likely is it that you would recommend FBAC to a friend or colleague?

Only eleven of one hundred and seventy two respondent skipped this question, and the response was quite positive. Respondents were asked to indicate the likelihood of recommendation on a scale of zero to ten, with zero being not at all likely and ten being extremely likely.

The survey found that even though only 50% of respondents are currently members of FBAC, a full 65% were somewhat likely, likely or extremely likely to recommend the program. 17 % of respondents were neutral on the question and 19% were extremely unlikely, unlikely, or somewhat unlikely to make such a referral.

Not at all likely								Extremely likely
0	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
5	4	7	13	3	18	1	17	18	10	65
answered question										161
skipped question										11

Question 7 – Is there anything else you would like to share about your experience with FBAC

This question was completely open ended and resulted in a total of fifty eight additional comments. These can be loosely categorized as Suggestions, Questions, Praise, and Criticism. Below the most common responses are summarized and paraphrased.

Suggestions:

· Officers should knock on doors to say hello and give people a real feel for their presence

· Wish larger complexes like Highland View could be patrolled.

· Patrol cars should be marked and officers need to be more visible. VHCA should use their funds to purchase a marked vehicle

· Need to increase membership to drive down cost; have promotional rate for trial period; consider a street rate

· Street captains should be marketing with brochure to new residents

· FBAC should be promoted at Summerfest

· Need to better publicize and market service. Include posts on Nextdoor. Distribute yard signs to new members. Publicize benefits. Post statistics on Facebook

· Summerfest proceeds should go to FBAC

· Make it easier to sign-up; Use a service like signupgenius.com

Questions:

· What streets/area is covered

· What are the benefits of the service

· What are the statistics in terms of crimes prevented, suspects arrested, etc.

· Is there local or national data that supports this type of security? What is most effective

· Who are the participants on my street

Praise:

· I like it; appreciate the safety provided to neighborhood; totally worth the money for extra eyes; very comforting to have them there

· Volunteers are amazing; volunteers are friendly and helpful; appreciate all who make it work

· Like improvements in ease of paying online

· Prompt response when requesting vacation checks

· Monthly information is helpful

· Impressed with professionalism and thoroughness when officers called; FBAC officers arrived before 911 dispatched officer; having supplemental patrol is great

Criticism:

· Website is completely awful with no useful information

· Tax dollars are sufficient to provide APD coverage; can’t pay twice for police protection; FBAC is bonus protection and too expensive along with home security system

· Have never known FBAC to be a valuable resource in 20 years; I’ve never seen an actual patrol car or officer walking around; have never heard any results; no link to deterrence; as far as I can tell, FBAC does not exist

· No one can explain benefits;

· Monthly safety reports shared on list serve are editorialized vs. reporting facts

· May drop due to lack of support from the VHCA; if VHCA doesn’t support, why should I

· I paid my $150 but never received the cell phone number

· Very expensive compared to adjacent neighborhoods

Fight Back Against Crime Survey Summary