Vanderbilt University Public Safety (VUPS) recently released an anonymous community feedback survey to find out more about community concerns.

This survey was conducted previously in 2012 and 2015 as a part of the accreditation process for the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA). In 2015, there were over 650 respondents. The survey takes approximately seven minutes to complete.

In addition to CALEA requirements, this year VUPS added questions in an effort to evaluate ongoing community relations efforts. For example, there are questions regarding programs offered to the Vanderbilt community such as Operation ID or Rape Aggression Defense classes.  

“Our goal is to determine which programs we need to spend more time talking with our community about,” said Rick Burr, Assistant Chief of Police with VUPS.

After the survey is closed, VUPS will review results and determine areas that require attention. In past surveys, according to Burr, findings have shown that overall the community feels safe on campus because of safety and security services provided by VUPS.

“Responses from the survey could impact the way VUPS allocates resources depending if there is an area of our jurisdiction where there are safety and security concerns,” Burr said. “The survey gives VUPS an opportunity to assess our current programs and services to have a better understanding of the needs of the VU community.”

The survey will remain open until Dec 14. Burr emphasized the importance not only of receiving evaluative feedback but also using the survey as a tool to identify security needs and further educate the Vanderbilt community about the services and programs available through VUPS.