Best questions for citizen survey about public safety and policing

Here are some of the best questions for a Citizen survey about public safety and policing, plus tips on how to create them. If you want to build a high-quality survey in seconds, you can use Specific’s AI-powered tools to generate your own survey instantly—saving time and boosting quality.

Best open-ended questions for citizen survey about public safety and policing

Open-ended questions help us capture unfiltered, nuanced feedback—exactly what’s needed when we want to hear real stories, concerns, and ideas from citizens. These types of questions work best when you’re after context and depth, letting people expand on their experiences instead of boxing them into multiple-choice options. Not sure where to start? Here are the top open-ended questions:

1. Can you describe how safe you feel in your neighborhood, both during the day and at night?

2. What concerns do you have about crime or public safety in your area?

3. How would you rate your interactions with local police officers, and why?

4. What changes would make you feel safer in your community?

5. Have you or someone you know had recent experiences (positive or negative) with the police? Please share details if comfortable.

6. How visible are police patrols or presence in your neighborhood?

7. What’s one thing you wish the police would do differently?

8. What advice would you give to improve trust between citizens and police?

9. Are there any barriers that make it hard for you to contact or approach local police?

10. Is there anything else about public safety or policing you want authorities to know?

Recent research backs up the need for listening closely: for example, the UK’s Crime Survey for England and Wales found that only 49% rated their local police as good or excellent in 2025—a drop from previous years, making it extra important to let citizens speak in their own words to uncover the “why” behind the numbers. [2]

Best single-select multiple-choice questions for citizen survey about public safety and policing

Single-select multiple-choice questions are a strong choice when you want to quantify opinions quickly, spot trends at a glance, or get people started in a conversation. They’re easier for citizens to answer, especially when they might not have strong opinions or need a nudge to share. After a quick multiple-choice response, you can always dive deeper with open-ended or follow-up questions.

Question: How safe do you feel walking alone at night in your neighborhood?

• Very safe

• Somewhat safe

• Not very safe

• Not safe at all

Question: How often do you see police patrols in your area?

• Daily

• Weekly

• Monthly

• Rarely or never

Question: Which of the following is your top concern about public safety?

• Property crime (e.g., theft, burglary)

• Violent crime (e.g., assault, robbery)

• Anti-social behavior (e.g., vandalism, noise)

• Traffic safety

• Other

When to followup with "why?" Always consider asking “why?” after a multiple-choice answer. If a citizen selects “Not very safe” about walking alone, a follow-up could be: “Can you tell us more about what makes you feel unsafe?” You’ll go beyond numbers to discover the stories and insights hiding underneath.

When and why to add the "Other" choice? The “Other” option is important—sometimes, citizens have unique concerns you haven’t anticipated. If someone selects “Other” as their top safety concern, a follow-up allows them to specify what’s on their mind, helping you uncover insights you might otherwise miss.

Should you include a net promoter score question?

Net Promoter Score (NPS) measures loyalty by asking one simple question: “How likely are you to recommend [service, in this case, your local police] to others?” It’s a staple in business, but it’s surprisingly effective for community trust and public services too—providing a clear benchmark for sentiment over time. Especially as NPS for citizen safety and policing questions can be tightly tailored, it's a fast, comparable way to track progress or pain points across groups and years.

The power of follow-up questions

Follow-up questions are where the magic happens—surface-level answers transform into actionable insights. We built Specific to harness this power with automatic AI follow-up questions that adapt like an expert researcher in real time. Instead of sending emails to clarify vague replies (and hoping for a response), the conversation keeps flowing, giving you richer, clearer answers instantly.

• Citizen: "The police presence is okay."

• AI follow-up: "What could make the police presence even better in your area?"

How many followups to ask? Usually, 2–3 focused follow-ups are perfect. If someone’s already explained themselves fully, move on—you can set this up automatically in Specific, so you get the info you need without exhausting your citizens.

This makes it a conversational survey, not just a form. Every answer leads naturally to the next, encouraging honesty and detail—respondents feel truly heard, and you get real depth, not just data points.

AI survey response analysis is a game changer. No matter how much unstructured feedback you collect, AI can analyze your responses, summarize opinions, and spot the biggest issues or trends—fast and without the manual grind.

If you’ve only tried static surveys, try generating a survey with conversational follow-ups—it’s a new experience and can change the kind of feedback you get.

How to write a great prompt for AI-generated citizen survey questions

Getting quality results from ChatGPT (or any GPT-based tool) depends on your prompt. Start simple: ask for a batch of questions, then refine the output by adding context.

To get started, try this:

Suggest 10 open-ended questions for Citizen survey about Public Safety And Policing.

For better results, add more background: describe your location, goals, or the issues on your mind. Your next prompt might be:

I am a city official aiming to improve community-police relations in a diverse urban area. Suggest 10 open-ended questions for a citizen survey about public safety and policing, focusing on trust and neighborhood-specific needs.

After you’ve gathered your questions, explore their structure with this:

Look at the questions and categorize them. Output categories with the questions under them.

Once you have categories (like trust, safety, communication), pick the ones you care about most and ask:

Generate 10 questions about trust and communication for a citizen survey about public safety and policing.

This step-by-step prompting helps you dial in on the precise topics that matter for your community.

What is a conversational survey?

Traditional surveys feel like checklists. Even when they include open-ended questions, they rarely create real dialogue. A conversational survey, like those built with Specific, is fundamentally different: the survey adapts based on each person’s responses, asking probing follow-ups and clarifying questions—just like a real conversation.

Why use AI for citizen surveys? AI survey generators like Specific make it faster to create great surveys—and ensure you don’t miss essential follow-up questions. The analysis side is equally powerful: with conversational output and instant summaries, understanding what matters most to your citizens becomes effortless. When police trust can swing 10% across a decade [2], these tools give you immediate feedback for course corrections, not just rear-view snapshots.

Specific leads the way in conversational survey UX, so both respondents and teams find the experience smooth, efficient, and even enjoyable. It’s a win-win—higher engagement for you, and clearer expression for them.

See this public safety and policing survey example now

If you want deep insights into public safety and policing topics, there’s no better moment to try a conversational, AI-generated survey with seamless follow-ups and actionable analysis. See for yourself how much more you can learn—right from the first response.