About one-in-three Bend residents say they are feeling less safe now than they were a year ago. That’s according the results of a survey released by the Bend Police Department.
The survey of about 1,400 Bendites was conducted by Portland State University.
Among the key findings of the survey:
About one-third said they felt less safe than they did a year ago. That being said, more than 90% said they still feel safe walking alone in the daytime in their neighborhood, park or downtown.
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A higher percentage of people said they found Bend PD trustworthy (79%) compared to 2021 (75%). It also found that 16% indicated an increase in trust in Bend PD over the past year vs. 8% who said their trust had decreased.
Helping to increase that trust was the police department’s response to the Bend Safeway shooting last August, the survey found.
And about 90% of respondents said they’d be willing to contact police if they saw a crime in progress or if they were victimized.
But just 55% said Bend PD was good at reducing crime. That’s a drop from 67% in 2021.
Nearly all those who responded said they wanted police to place a high priority on violent crime. Additionally, more than 60% said they want police to prioritize DUII enforcement and investigation of property crime.
