The Rockford Police Officer Survey: Results

Loyola University Chicago worked with the Rockford Police Department, Winnebago county criminal justice agencies, community groups and organizations as well as state criminal justice agencies to design and implement a focused deterrence project. Because an important component of the focused deterrence project in Rockford is the support, cooperation and involvement of the community, a survey was administered to citizens in the fall of 2017 that gauged their perceptions of crime and disorder in Rockford, their notions of the appropriate responses to violent crime and those who commit violent crime, and their perceptions of the Rockford Police Department and the Winnebago County Court system. As a follow-up to this survey of community members, the project team subsequently conducted a survey of Rockford police officers to better understand their perceptions of how they are treated within their agency and their interactions with community members.