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“Pretty outstanding” is how two authors of a survey report conducted for the Regina Police Service characterize the study’s finding.
At Tuesday’s Board of Police Commissioners meeting, Leslie-Anne Keown and Adam Vaughan of the University of Regina Justice Studies department presented the results of the 2025 Community Perceptions Survey, which show between 66 and 85 per cent of respondents either agree or strongly agree with statements related to trust and confidence in the police.
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Keown, who has previously done similar studies at a national level for Statistics Canada, is particularly struck by the similarity in responses between victims and non-victims of crime.
“Often we will see in virtually any one of these surveys done … that victims will have less trust and confidence in the police. We’ve seen that. You don’t see that here,” she told the board. “That’s a pretty unusual finding.”
On a ranking of 1 to 5, the aggregate level of service satisfaction was 3.95, which is down only slightly from previous surveys.
“This would suggest that for the vast majority of interactions that people are having with RPS, civilians and members (are) positive, and the scores have been very consistent across the various waves of the survey,” Vaughan said.
The survey also found a slight decline in the perception of public safety, but within the margin of error. However, the score was lower for people in the central district.
“There’s always areas that we can focus on,” Chief Lorilee Davies told reporters.
“And we heard from the community, they want increased police visibility. They want more interactions with youth, people with mental health experiencing mental health illnesses, and strengthening communication between the public and RPS.
“So those are three big things but I think really, as we head into our next four year strategic plan, this is really good information for us to determine what our course forward looks like.”
Davies, who said she believes RPS is the best police service in the country, is pleased the survey acknowledges the things being done right.
“2025 was a bit of a rocky year for RPS, but the fact that those results and those numbers are still pretty high, you know, feels good. That shows that we’re certainly doing things in the right way.”
The survey, which is conducted every two years, talked to 465 people over the phone, evenly distributed between the north, central, and south districts. The margin of error is 4.5 per cent, 95 times out of 100.
The results were presented at the same meeting as a report on the year-end crime statistics, along with the 10-year trends. Police-reported criminal incidents were down 12 per cent from 2024, a 17 per cent decrease compared to 2016.
The decrease comes despite the growth in Regina’s population during that time.
Davies said crime rates and perception of safety do not necessarily correlate, citing sensationalism as one factor in that.
“It’s not necessarily a good measurement of how safe the city is,” she told reporters. “And so I think we’re always sort of battling that factor, trying to tell the good news stories, showing the good work that’s done day in and day out by the officers in our in our service.”
Mayor Chad Bachynski said while perception has been consistent in recent years, it requires continued effort.
“We’ve had some challenges last year, and I think now more than ever, it’s important that we continue engaging with the community, being out in the community, and having that visibility, to continue to work on that trust,” he said.
Bachynski said the crime statistics indicate some areas that still need work.
“I think with anything, it’s always being cautiously optimistic, but it’s a positive trend to see a number of areas go down. There are some areas that haven’t, and so those are obviously some focus areas.
“But, you know, overall, I think we are doing a lot of the right things.”
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