Greensboro Police Partner with Zencity to Launch New Blockwise Survey Tool to Better Understand Community Concerns

Greensboro Police Department is launching a new public survey tool, “Blockwise”, to better understand local concerns, attitudes, and trust in their local police officers. The survey will appear to local residents on their mobile devices. The tool will enable the Department to more holistically understand local neighborhood safety issues and enhance their responsiveness to community priorities. This is the latest effort by the Department to use technology to better understand community concerns and more effectively serve residents. Greensboro is the first city in North Carolina and the first Police Department in the south to implement this new technology.

Beginning today, the survey will gather responses from residents in English and Spanish, to start. The survey will appear to residents through the use of digital ads in various locations such as news websites, social media platforms and other applications. Based on responses, the survey will measure resident satisfaction regarding residents’ feeling of safety and trust in police while also identifying key concerns residents want GPD to address.

The launch of the new public safety survey is in partnership with Zencity, a global technology company redefining community engagement to build better local governments based on the voices of their residents. Zencity works with hundreds of municipalities across the U.S. including Chicago, Phoenix, Seattle, and San Diego.

In under five minutes, Greensboro residents can help the Department and City leaders know how they feel. Some questions asked will include:

• When it comes to the threat of crime, how safe do you feel in your neighborhood? Please indicate on a scale of 0 (not safe at all) to 10 (completely safe).
• How much do you agree with this statement? The police in my neighborhood treat local residents with respect. (Level of agreement from 0-10)
• How much do you agree with this statement? The police in my neighborhood listen to and take into account the concerns of local residents. (Level of agreement from 0-10)
• What is the number one issue or problem on your block or in your neighborhood that you would like the police to deal with? Please be specific. [Open-ended response]

In keeping with the Department’s commitment to transparency and accountability, the survey results will be shared with the public as they become available.

 Zencity’s community surveys incorporate voices from every corner of the community. To do so, Zencity sets response targets based on U.S. Census data about the municipality. Zencity ensures the security and privacy of its data and survey respondents. Survey responses are anonymous unless a respondent chooses to share their email address for follow-up purposes. Regardless, survey responses are kept confidential. Zencity does not collect a respondent’s name, address, or any other personally-identifying information. Zencity’s weighting accounts for the responses of every single person who answered a question. The responses give a proportional voice to all demographics (e.g., by age, sex, race, education level, and income level) based on the makeup of the municipality.