Vale Viewpoint Survey September 2012
Results
Background
Vale Viewpoint is the joint LSB citizens’ panel. A citizens' panel is a large,
demographically representative group of citizens who have agreed to be
regularly surveyed to allow organisations to gain an understanding of
members’ preferences and opinions. The Vale Viewpoint panel provides a
resource for all LSB partners to consult residents of the Vale of Glamorgan
about the way in which they deliver services and form policy.
Members of the panel were recruited by a number of methods between April
and July 2012. When the panel launched in September 2012 it had 901
members.
Results
The first survey of the Vale Viewpoint panel was conducted in September
2012. There were 297 responses. This represented a response rate of 33%.
The response rate is disappointing and means that in depth analysis, for
example by location or age group, is not possible. The results of the survey do
however provide us with an understanding of how Vale residents in general
feel about a number of issues.
The panel were asked a series of questions on community safety,
volunteering opportunities, customer contact and influencing decisions.
Community Safety
The first section of the survey focused on community safety issues.
To gain an understanding of how residents perceived crime levels in the Vale
the questionnaire asked residents “In the last twelve months what do you feel
has happened to crime levels in the Vale of Glamorgan?”
In the last twelve months what do you feel has
happened to crime levels?
40
30
20
10
0
They have They have They have
decreased stayed the increased
same
I don't
know
53% of respondents felt that crime levels had either decreased or stayed the
same. 13% of respondents felt that crime levels had increased.
Residents were then asked a similar question on anti-social behaviour.
In the last twelve months what do you feel has
happened to antisocial behaviour levels?
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
They have They have They have
decreased stayed the increased
same
I don't
know
47% of respondents felt that anti-social behaviour had either decreased or
stayed the same. However, in this instance a greater number, 22%, felt that
anti-social behaviour had increased.
It is notable that both questions resulted in a high number of “don’t know”
responses. 35% of respondents did not know how they felt about crime levels
and 32% did not know how they felt about anti-social behaviour levels. “Don’t
know” responses are normally removed from reported figures to give more
accurate results but in this instance the quantity of “don’t know” responses
makes them very significant as it suggests improvements could be made in
how crime and anti-social behaviour figures and the success of community
safety projects are communicated to Vale of Glamorgan residents.
The survey then sought to obtain an understanding of how residents felt about
the presence of CCTV cameras in the Vale. Respondents were asked the
question “There are 73 CCTV cameras in the Vale. How does this make you
feel about crime in the Vale?”
There are 73 CCTV cameras in the Vale. How
does this make you feel?
50
40
30
20
10
0
A lot safer
A little safer
No different
Less safe
64% of respondents felt that the cameras made them feel either a little or a lot
safer. This suggests that the use of CCTV cameras makes the majority of
residents feel to some extent safer. 33% responded that they felt no different
and 2% felt that the cameras made them feel less safe.
These results suggest that the use of CCTV cameras is an effective method of
promoting a feeling of safety within the Vale.
Respondents were then asked how safe they felt in a number of situations.
How safe do you feel in the following situations?
Cycling at night
Cycling during the day
Driving at night
Driving during the day
Walking in your community alone at night
Walking in your community alone in the day
At home alone at night
At home alone in the day
0%
Very safe
20%
Safe
40%
Unsafe
60%
80%
100%
Very unsafe
Over 99% of respondents felt either very safe or safe while at home alone
during the day. 96% of respondents felt very safe or safe at home alone at
night.
94% of respondents felt either safe or very safe while walking in their
community during the day. However, only 64% of respondents felt safe or very
safe while walking in their community at night.
97% of respondents felt safe or very safe driving during the day. 88% felt safe
or very safe driving at night.
There were considerably fewer responses to the cycling questions. However,
of those that did express an opinion, 79% felt safe or very cycling during the
day. While only 46% felt safe or very safe when cycling at night.
The remaining questions in this section focused on the reporting of crime and
anti-social behaviour.
Respondents were initially asked to whom they would report anti-social
behaviour in their area.
Who would you contact to report anti-social
behaviour in your area?
70
60
50
40
%
30
20
10
0
999
101
The Council I would not
report it
62% of respondents replied that they would use the non-emergency 101
number to report anti-social behaviour. 16% answered that they would report
it to the Council. 13% of respondents said that they would contact the
emergency services’ 999 number.
Only 8% of respondents said they would not report anti-social behaviour in
their area. However, the reasons given when these respondents were asked
why they would not report it are more concerning. Over half of all respondents
that answered previously that they would not report anti-social behaviour went
on to state that this was either because they did not think they would be able
to get through to anyone who could do anything about the incident or that they
felt no action would be taken if they did report it. A further third of
respondents, when asked why they would not report anti-social behaviour,
stated that they would not report an incident due to fear of reprisal.
12% of residents surveyed reported that they had been a victim of crime in the
past 12 months. Of these only 43% reported this to the police. Those that did
not report that they had been a victim of crime where then asked why. In this
instance the comments were more varied, however, there was a common
feeling that reporting an incident would not result in any action being taken. A
selection of the comments made is given below.









The police didn't want to know.
No point.
It is usual a gang of about 10 youngsters ages 11-15. They would
leave before I had reported them.
Fear of retribution.
It was graffiti on our house wall and car. Did not report because
have reported similar to no avail.
Pointless!
Did not feel need to report.
It wasn't worth it.
Why bother!
Volunteering in the Vale
The second section of the survey asked respondents about their views on
volunteering and about any voluntary work that they currently undertook.
53% of respondents reported that someone in their household undertook
some form of informal or formal volunteering. The results of this question are
shown below.
Any work to
help promote
or raise
awareness of
a charity or
community
group
Unpaid work
for a charity or
community
group
Fundraising
for a charity or
community
group
19%
15%
10%
Doing
shopping,
collecting a
pension or
paying bills for
someone else
who is not a
relative
Babysitting or
caring for
someone
else's children
Giving advice
to someone or
helping
someone else
access
information or
advice
4%
7%
12%
Providing
care,
company or
help around
the house for
someone who
is not a
relative
Transporting
or
accompanying
someone
who is not a
relative
6%
6%
Writing letters
or filling in
forms on
someone
else's behalf
8%
Representing
someone (for
example
talking to a
Council
official)
Other
4%
This suggests there is a great deal of informal volunteering currently taking
place in the Vale.
10%
92% of all respondents felt that volunteers had a positive impact on their
community and the same number felt that more should be done to encourage
volunteering in the Vale of Glamorgan.
Respondents were then asked what would encourage them to undertake
voluntary work. By the far the most common response was if more information
were available on volunteering opportunities. 41% of respondents that did not
currently undertake any voluntary work said they would consider doing so if
they were made aware of volunteering opportunities in the Vale. This could
potentially represent a very large resource for the Vale if volunteering
opportunities were more effectively promoted.
A significant number of respondents also suggested that the possibility of
gaining accreditation or qualifications from voluntary work would encourage
them to start. The potential for this should also be investigated.
Respondents were also asked about their awareness of some of the groups
working to promote voluntary work in the Vale. 33% of all respondents had
heard of the Vale Volunteer Bureau, 17% had heard of Vale Centre for
Voluntary Services and 15% had heard of the Wales Council for Voluntary
Action. These results also suggest that more needs to be done to raise the
profile of voluntary services in the Vale.
Contacting Us
The third section of the survey sought to gain an understanding of customer
contact preferences.
Panel members were asked whether they had contacted any of a list of LSB
partners and associated groups in the last twelve months. The results are
shown below.
Vale of Glamorgan Council
South Wales Police
71%
26%
Cardiff and the Vale
College
South Wales Fire Service
Environment Agency
6%
Cardiff and the Vale UHB
Abertawe Bro Morgannwg
Health Board
VCVS
28%
6%
5%
3%
Creative Rural Communities 3%
Communities First
2%
5%
80% of respondents had contacted at least one LSB partner organisation in
the past 12 months. This suggests that partners are collectively having some
level of dialogue with a large proportion of Vale residents. The potential of this
customer contact should not be underestimated.
The organisation contacted by the largest number of respondents was the
Vale of Glamorgan Council. This suggests that the Council would be the
organisation best placed to direct residents towards information provided by
other partners.
Respondents were then asked what their preferred method for contacting
public organisations would be for a series of requests. The results allow us to
draw some interesting conclusions about preferred channels.
The preferred method of respondents for booking an appointment or service,
for making a detailed enquiry and for making a complaint is by phone.
However, for all other options there is a clear preference for electronic
methods (email and online); 57% of respondents would rather find basic
information by sending an email or looking online; 50% of respondents would
prefer to use electronic methods to register with an organisation or for a
service; 38% would prefer to use online methods to respond to consultations;
and 45% would prefer to use these methods to amend personal details.
These results show that while other methods are still being used and so must
not be neglected online channels of communication must be further developed
and adequately promoted.
88% of respondents said that they would make a complaint if they received
bad customer service when contacting an organisation. Nearly half of the
respondents that offered a reason why they would not make a complaint
stated that they did not feel this would have any impact. This perception that
public organisations do not react to the views and experiences of residents
was a common theme in the final section of the survey.
Influencing Decisions
The final section of the survey sought to ascertain how confident the panel
were that they could influence the way in which public organisations worked.
The results suggest that there is still a large amount of work to be done in this
area.
43% of respondents agreed or strongly agreed with the statement “Public
organisations want to know my opinion”. Only 33% agreed or strongly agreed
with the statement “I can influence decisions in my local area” and only 17%
agreed or strongly agreed with the statement “Public organisations act on my
feedback”.
These results illustrate a general feeling of cynicism towards public
organisations in the Vale that must be addressed.
Conclusion
The results of the first Vale Viewpoint survey offer an insight into how
residents in the Vale feel about a range of issues. In addition to this the data
gathered allows us to indentify a number of opportunities to improve the way
in which LSB partners provide services to Vale residents.
The results of the survey suggest that there is cause for the LSB to consider
how partners can work collectively to improve the way in which;
1. community safety figures, especially low or decreasing rates of crime
and anti-social behaviour, are communicated to residents;
2. volunteering opportunities are promoted in the Vale;
3. residents are encouraged to use electronic/online methods to contact
public organisations in the Vale;
4. opportunities for residents to engage with partners and influence
decisions, including via the Vale Viewpoint panel, are promoted
It is important that the results of this survey are acted upon and that
meaningful feedback is provided to those residents that took part. Doing so
will challenge some of the negative perceptions held by Vale residents and
also help to ensure the continued response of participants and encourage an
improved response rate from the panel to future surveys.