Ontarians feel safe with OPP services, according to survey

More than 95 per cent of Ontarians feel 'safe' or 'very safe' in their communities with the services of the Ontario Provincial Police, according to a survey conducted by the police service earlier this year.

Less than one per cent said the feel very unsafe, while 3.5 per cent said they feel unsafe.

Randomly selected telephone numbers were used to gather a total of 1,000 completed surveys from respondents who were at least 16 years old and who came from households where no member of the
household was employed by the OPP.

A majority of respondents indicated that they feel safe when travelling on Ontario's provincial highways, and that they were satisfied with the visibility of the OPP's marine and ATV patrols.

The survey also shows that 66 per cent of respondents said when it comes to distracted driving, they would never do it, while 24 per cent said they were 'not likely' to do it. Three per cent said they do it all the time.

Overall, more than 64 per cent of those survey said they were either very satisfied or satisfied with the OPP's enforcement of distracted driving laws, while more than 77 per cent of those surveyed said they are very satisfied or satisfied with with OPP's enforcement of aggressive driving laws.

The survey also touched respondents' awareness of impaired driving laws. The survey revealed that nine per cent of all respondents were not aware they they can be charged with impaired driving if drugs they have taken have affected their driving ability.

More than 81 per cents of those who participated in the survey said they were at least satisfied with the OPP's enforcement of drunk driving laws, with men being more satisfied than women.

The majority of respondents, at 49 per cent, lived within the Greater Toronto Area. The 705 area code, combined with the 249 area code in Ontario, accounted for 13 per cent of respondents.

Respondents 64 years of age and younger made up 80 per cent of the respondents, while women comprised 56 per cent of all respondents.

The information will be used by the OPP to set goals and objectives to improve on the services it delivers to communities throughout Ontario, said the OPP in the news release. The surveys are done throughout the province annually, and further surveys will be conducted again during the Spring of 2013.

To view a copy of the complete OPP Community Satisfaction Survey 2012, visit www.opp.ca/media/2012_Provincial_Report_Final_EN_August_28_2012.pdf.