This is called the Local Safety Diagnosis (DLS) and it is a special feature of Geneva. Since 2004, every three years, a study has been carried out on the population, by means of a survey. Her goals? Above all, allow the public to express their concerns about insecurity and their expectations of the police, whether cantonal or municipal. The sixth DLS was launched this Monday, January 6.
Two samples of people, a representative panel of the population of the canton according to the Geneva police, will be consulted. These are 3,250 residents of six of the seven municipalities who benefit from a local security contract (see box), and secondly residents of the Geneva countryside. This study is conducted by the MIS Trend Institute in Lausanne, “according to scientific standards in the matter,” said the Department of Safety, Employment and Health (DSES) in a statement.
Extensive investigations
The questionnaire sent to respondents is anonymized. What will they be consulted on? Not just on security itself. The field of investigation is even vast. Certainly, the police are trying to find out how people feel insecure in various places and at certain times of the day or night. But the survey also aims to assess social life in neighborhoods and the perception of a series of incivilities and offenses, the quality of contacts between the population and the police, and finally the way in which the latter fulfill their missions.
The results will be analyzed by an external scientific expert, in collaboration with the police’s strategic analysis service. They will be known in about six months.
2016 results
Since the exercise is triennial, it is interesting to look at the first five DLS, and above all the one carried out in 2016. What lessons could we draw from this? First, that the feeling of insecurity was significantly lower than in previous years. The percentage of “insecure” people reached 34.3% in 2016, compared to almost 50% three years earlier.
The Genevans also seemed quite satisfied with the action of their cantonal police, almost nine out of ten respondents believed at the time that they were doing a good job. A real improvement, if we are to believe the previous DLS. In 2007 for example, this satisfaction rate was only 73.9%. But at the same time, 40% of respondents in 2016 believed that the police did not treat all categories of the population the same.
In addition, the responses concerning social cohesion in the districts or the villages showed a clear deterioration, more than 80% of the respondents judging it as average, even weak.
Finally, note that in 2016, only five municipalities (in addition to the campaign) were surveyed, namely the City of Geneva, Carouge, Meyrin, Plan-les-Ouates and Vernier. Now, a sixth is added, Lancy, who has had a local security contract since 2015. Thônex signed the same contract in 2018, but it is too early to assess its effectiveness on the ground, the police believe, reason for which its inhabitants will not be consulted this year.
Created: 06.01.2020, 8:04 p.m.
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