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CU-Clearfield student, faculty member present results of recent regional police services survey

CLEARFIELD, PA (04/23/2024) — Commonwealth University-Clearfield criminal justice faculty member, Dr. Michael J. McSkimming and Carl Dawes, a criminal justice major, presented the results of a recent survey gauging citizen satisfaction of police services in the Clearfield Service Area before the Clearfield Regional Police Commission on Wednesday, April 10.

Data collection for the study, which is an extension of similar surveys conducted in other rural locations like Lycoming County, Tiadaghton and Lock Haven, began in March 2023 and concluded in early June of the same year.

Student researchers, Dawes, of Clearfield; Stacey Houchins, of Hyde; and Jayanna Shirey, of Frenchville, went door-to-door to randomly selected households in the area and were able to gather data from 88 respondents.

Similar previous surveys that had been conducted, the results of the study seem to have suggested that citizens in the Clearfield region were satisfied overall with the services the Clearfield Regional Police Department were providing.

Chief Vincent McGinnis, who was in attendance for the presentation, seemed happy with the results but was quick to point out that "there are areas for improvement that we will take into serious consideration."

"This was an important piece of the puzzle when it comes to understanding the relationship and level of satisfaction that this particular rural community has regarding the service that police provide," McSkimming said. "It will be very interesting to see how this data compares with the other studies that have been conducted."

Dawes described the study as, "fun but very frustrating to do at times. It was a great experience to get out there and conduct research and talk with people, but at times, technology became an issue. A good number of locations made it difficult to establish a connection to use the iPads. We had to adapt to that, which slowed our progress."

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Commonwealth University-Clearfield student, Carl Dawes (left), and faculty member, Dr. Michael J. McSkimming present recent survey results gauging citizen satisfaction of police services.

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