The people have spoken in regards to what they want from their police department.

Jamestown officials asked residents to complete the survey as part of Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s police reform initiative requiring cities in the state to develop a plan that reinvents and modernizes police strategies and programs based on community input. Each police agency’s reform plan must address policies, procedures, practices and deployment, including, but not limited to use of force. Police departments must adopt a plan by April 1, 2021, to be eligible for future state funding.

The city’s survey was available for a couple weeks in October to respond to by visiting the city’s website, www.jamestowny.gov, which is also where people can view the full survey results.

The survey had 18 inquires, which also included personal questions like gender, age range and race/ethnicity. The idea for the survey was discussed during the Jamestown City Council Public Safety Committee’s first police reform initiative meeting held last month.

The first question on the survey was about the person’s residency or affiliation to the city. It was the question that received the most responses, with 480 people providing an answer. Of the 480 responses, half were homeowners who live in the city. Other responses included 23% from people living in the city who rent; 18% are employed in the city, but don’t live in Jamestown; 5% own a business in the city, but don’t reside there; 4% were non-residents who owned property in the city; and 15% answered none of the above.

The rest of the 17 questions didn’t have as many responses, with 224 to 288 people responding to the remaining queries. The second question asked what is the role of the JPD in the community, which was left open-ended allowing people to provide their own response. Of the 288 responses, the most popular answer was to “serve and protect.”

The third question asked what police services are most beneficial. For this question people were allowed to select up to 10 services of 27 listed responses. The No. 1 answer was investigating crimes against people like assaults, which was selected by 84% of the respondents. The second most popular answer was narcotics investigations at 73%

The fourth question asked how can JPD improve policing and build a better relationship with the community. This time people were allowed to select three of eight responses. The most popular was community outreach and conflict resolution at 55%. The second most popular response was schools and youth involvement at 53%.

The fifth questions was if JPD officers should be required to live in the city, with 52% of people responding “Yes.” During August and September, the Jamestown City Council discussed a possible residency requirement for JPD officers. Following the council’s discussion, the Kendall Club Police Benevolent Association executive board came out against the proposed residency requirement for Jamestown police officers.

The sixth question asked people what does equality and social justice in regards to law enforcement means to them. Of the 12 given responses, people were allowed to select five. The most popular response was training and supervision at 62%. The second most popular answer was de-escalation techniques at 57%.

The eighth question asked what are some ways to improve transparency and accountability. People were allowed to select five of 13 given responses. The No. 1 response was body worn cameras at 84%. The second most popular response was in-dash car cameras at 52%.

According to the city’s website, the survey was step one of the timeline toward meeting the state police reform initiative mandate. Step two will be to review the responses from the survey during a meeting of the council’s Public Safety Committee starting at 2 p.m. Thursday, which can be viewed online at the city’s website.

Other steps of the plan include draft a reform plan; host a public meeting on the draft plan; revise draft reform plan; finalize reform plan with the council; and have the council vote on the final reform plan, which is scheduled to happen in February.