Public Safety Perceptions

First off, St. Paul’s election results now are final: we are poised to have our first all-female city council, making history on a national scale.  Sincere congratulations to all; we look forward to new partnerships as we move forward. Top of mind, of course, is the newly approved sales tax. We will continue to advocate for transparency and accountability as the City moves forward with much-needed infrastructure investments.
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Today I also wanted to share the key takeaways from the 2nd of a 3-year public safety survey, wrapped up in Q3. The survey measures public perception of crime and public safety in St. Paul. Again, we conducted a residential phone survey and asked our members with physical locations in St. Paul to share an email survey with their employees.
 
Results this year show both improving and evolving perceptions. It is good news that most respondents no longer think that crime is the top issue facing St. Paul. There was also a significant drop in residents who think crime is an increasing problem in St. Paul (from 65% in 2022 to 30% in 2023).
 
While these are positive trends, the data also shows that the decisions residents most concerned about crime make on where to visit, shop, or dine out are impacted by public safety perceptions. Respondents most frequently cited the lack of police, panhandling and harassment, encampments, trash and graffiti and news about crime as the factors that make them feel unsafe.
 
Right now, we have the opportunity to learn from this data and improve the public's confidence in the safety of St. Paul by paying attention to the impact our surroundings have on our perceptions of safety. The Chamber will advocate for action in three key areas:
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• Improving the safety and cleanliness of the skyway system.
• Intensify efforts to assist people in crisis, remove encampments, and curb threatening behavior.
• Support the City's efforts in police officer recruitment and retention.

 
Read more and dive into the survey methodology, data, and results HERE.

See you in the trenches!