In October 2004, the King County Sheriff’s Office (KCSO) conducted a telephone survey. Similar  research with residents of unincorporated King County has taken place every third year since 1998. The sampling frame consists of a random sample of certain unincorporated King County residents in the areas of Four Creeks, Greater Maple Valley, North Highline, Vashon-Maury Island, Upper Bear Creek, and West Hill.

A total of 605 interviews were conducted between Friday, October 8, 2004 and Thursday, October 28, 2004. A goal of one-hundred (100) completed surveys with a 50/50 gender split was set in each area.

Below, you will find some key findings of the survey. You also may access the entire survey in PDF format using the link at the bottom of this page.  

Overall, UAC respondents report feeling very safe and at home in their neighborhood.

• A majority of respondents in all areas feel their neighborhood is a “real home” (82% of all UAC respondents combined, feel their neighborhood is a real home).
• In addition, respondents report a high level of safety; nearly all surveyed UAC respondents (94%) feel safe walking alone in their neighborhood during the day and three-quarters (74%) feel safe being outside and alone in their neighborhood at night.
• Respondents’ feeling of safety has scarcely varied since 2001 and seven in ten respondents (70%) feel that the level of crime in their area has remained the same and an additional 10% feel crime has deceased.
• A majority (83%) of respondents surveyed in the unincorporated areas also report they have not restricted their normal activities out of fear of crime.

On both an aided and unaided basis respondents indicate their top areas of concern are auto theft, speeding, burglary/robberies, drug usage and vandalism.

• When asked on an unaided basis to name the three areas of crime that are of the most concern, drug usage, reckless driving or speeding, burglaries, car break-ins and other robberies garnered the most responses.
• At least half of surveyed UAC respondents consider speeding, car break-ins and burglary to be a major or a moderate problem in their community. Of these, speeding is considered to be a major problem by a third of respondents; fewer than one-quarter of respondents consider all other issues to be a major problem in the community.
• Respondents are agreeable to nearly all of the presented means of solving crime. In addition to agreeing that improving crime prevention is an appropriate way to solve crime, respondents seemed most amenable to actions that suggest vigilance on the part of police or the community such as establishing block watches, increasing school programs, more or better law enforcement, establishing/increasing Citizen Advisory Boards, increasing communication, having more community meetings or having more police.

The majority of respondents are satisfied with the general police services provided to them and are also satisfied with the manner in which the police conduct their work.

• Almost two-thirds (64%) of respondents generally think their police are doing an excellent or good job and another 26% believe the police are performing at a satisfactory level.
• The majority of respondents also believe that the police conduct their work in a professional manner, giving the police high marks for courtesy, honesty, concern, fairness, for working with citizens, for treating people equally and for not being intimidating.
• Given the chance to make one or two changes to their current police services, however, respondents most often recommend increasing police staffing or the number of patrols,increasing the visibility of police or increasing the level of communication between the police and the community.

Although police interaction has risen from 2001, still only a minority of respondents report that they, themselves or a family member, have interacted with the police in the past year. Respondents who report an interaction with the police tend to report that the experience was positive.

• A third (34%) of respondents report that they or a family member interacted with the police in the past year. Those who have interacted with the police report, on average, 3.38 interactions during the past year. The majority of respondents who interacted with the police say that the interaction was either in person or over the phone.
• A third (34%) of those who interacted with the police say the police were very effective; 20% report they were effective; 17% say they were partially effective and 21% say the police were ineffective.
• However, although respondents are slightly split in their assessment of police effectiveness, at least half of the respondents who reported an interaction say the police were polite, respectful, told the respondent how to get in touch with them, took control of the situation, were customer service oriented, made an effort to understand the problem, were objective, responded faster than expected, and were sympathetic.

Respondents report greater likelihood to use a web-based crime reporting system than to take an active involvement in a block watch. In addition, there is a gap between residents’ desire to be kept informed by police and the perceived information received from police.

• One-quarter (25%) of respondents are very likely and 35% are somewhat likely to utilize a web-based crime reporting system.
• Fewer (12%) are a member of a business or neighborhood block watch or citizens group.
• Forty-one percent (41%) of respondents feel the police keep them informed, but more than half (56%) do not feel informed. Of those who feel uninformed, most (84%) feel the police should keep them informed.