Cheyenne Police’s “Operation Change” Improves Downtown Safety Perception

In March of 2017, Chief Kozak announced their “Operation Change” initiative focused on addressing downtown Cheyenne safety. Prior to the program’s launch a survey was conducted to determine the current perception of safety. Majority of respondents stated the visibility of police officers downtown was “Somewhat Visible” (41.34%) and “Not So Visible” (29.74%). The effort by the Cheyenne police officers was to increase their visibility downtown and the results from respondents shows they did improve this. Majority of respondents stated the visibility of police officers following the initiative was “Very Visible” (21.32%) and “Somewhat Visible” (50.76%).

The initial survey issued in the spring showed that majority of respondents felt “Very Safe” (32.11%) or “Somewhat Safe” (43.50%). The survey respondents following the effort was “Very Safe” (31.22%) or “Somewhat Safe” (39.09%). One of the largest improvements was the fact that prior to the start of “Operation Change” only 6% of respondents felt “Extremely Safe” compared to an improved 12% after the completion. This shows a great improvement.

Operation Change was funded by a grant and conducted by the Cheyenne Police Department in partnership with the Downtown Development Authority and the Greater Cheyenne Chamber of Commerce.

Photo by: #IDLER PHOTO