Host organization: Peterborough Police Service
Student: Samantha Groulx and Raquel Maset (International Development Studies)
The project: There have undoubtedly been changes in Peterborough's demographic due to continuous migration flows. Samantha and Raquel's project aimed to identify the gap between PPS and the citizens they serve. This allows for better understanding of the community by the PPS in addition, it facilitates better programing and relations to the community by PPS.
Research question(s): What is the current demographic makeup of the PPS? What is the demographic makeup of the surrounding community? How representative is PPS of the community it serves?
Methods: Samantha and Raquel conducted a review of census data from Peterborough to gain an in-depth understanding of the ‘who’ in the PPS service area. They then developed computer-based survey for PPS staff, to gather data on its demographic makeup and, lastly, they conducted a comparative analysis on their results to identify the differences in demographics between the two groups.
Findings: Samantha and Raquel’s research on demographics found that appropriate recommendations and moves can be made by PPS to better represent the Peterborough community through hiring practices, workshops, and future plans.
Their research demonstrates how Peterborough is becoming even more ethnically diverse – and how the Peterborough Police Service can adapt and grow with these changes.
Impacts: A key element to the project is to continue to recognize that effective policing is directly related to an internal understanding of the diversity of the community it services. In addition, the community representativeness of police services themselves, in terms of demographic factors, is assumed to positively impact both the effectiveness of current programming and the ability to tailor future hiring practices and professional development training to meet emerging community needs.
This project won the TCRC Community Impact Award at our 2019 Celebration of Community Research. Congratulations, Samantha and Raquel!
