Accessible Survey Report

Annual Policing Survey 2022

November 2022

As part of his commitment to actively engage with the diverse communities of Kent and Medway, the elected Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC), Matthew Scott, launched his sixth Annual Policing Survey in July 2022.  

Like previous years, the aim of the exercise was to survey a large and representative sample of residents on their views and experiences of policing, as well as feelings of safety, whether they had been a victim of crime, and the subsequent support received, amongst other questions.

Collecting information from the sample enables the PCC and his staff to draw meaningful conclusions to help inform the Police and Crime Plan and make decisions regarding the council tax precept.

However, this year’s survey was slightly different because the PCC was searching for a new Chief Constable. Mr Scott wanted to gauge the public’s views on which leadership qualities the new Chief Constable should possess and which policing priorities the successful candidate should focus on. These two additional questions were added after the survey was officially launched, so numbers of responses to these questions are lower than other questions.

We received 2964 completed survey responses overall.

The survey was shared widely throughout Kent in a number of ways and to different communities. More Kent Police officers and staff completed the survey this year compared to previous years, because the PCC wanted to understand what they wanted from their new Chief Constable.

Hard copies were completed at both the Kent Police Open Day and the Kent County Show. The survey was widely promoted on our social media channels and posted directly on various local community Facebook groups, including those from diverse communities. ‘My Community Voice’ and ‘Nextdoor’ were also channels we utilised to reach out to more local people.

A special edition Newsletter was sent out to our 4000 mailing list recipients and emails were sent to parish councils, community liaison officers, places of worship, schools, colleges, universities, rotary clubs, women’s institutes, Kent scouts, commissioned charities, criminal justice partner organisations, and many more. We also asked them to share more widely with friends, family, and colleagues. Hard copies of the survey were also filled in at street stalls in shopping foyers and high streets across Kent.