ISA conducts 2020 Police and Community Relations Survey for StudyLA at Loyola Marymount University

ISA conducts 2020 Police and Community Relations Survey for StudyLA

This survey was conducted to measure public opinion toward the Los Angeles Police Department’s (LAPD) policing in Los Angeles, California

The Study

In the fall of 2020, Interviewing Service of America (ISA) conducted a survey on behalf of The Center for the Study of Los Angeles (StudyLA) at Loyola Marymount University to better understand the public’s opinion toward policing in Los Angeles. The questions asked in this survey covered topics such as trust in the police, community engagement efforts by the local police, race relations, and personal experiences with the police. The reason for the study was to gauge how residents feel about the job the LAPD is doing in relation to their mission: “to safeguard the lives and property of the people the LAPD serves, to reduce the incidence and fear of crime, and to enhance public safety while working with the diverse communities to improve quality of life.”

Methodology

The survey was conducted from August 21 to October 25, 2020 and administered in English, Spanish, Mandarin, and Korean. It utilized a mixed methodology to ensure representation of the diverse LA population, consisting of a 20-minute telephone interview, online surveys, and face-to-face interviews with 1,753 adults who reside in the city of Los Angeles. A minimum of 400 residents from each of the four LAPD bureaus were surveyed.

Results

When residents were asked how things were going in the city of Los Angeles, only 48.8% said it was going in the right direction. The level of optimism has been steadily dropping since 2017. Residents have more trust in their neighbors (64.6%) than the LAPD (51.2%) to do what is right. A huge number of Angelenos support community policing (88.2%), which focuses on having officers build ties and work closely with community members. Even with the overwhelming number of those who support community policing, only 9.8% say the LAPD’s role is to work with and be part of the community. A large number say that their role is to serve, protect and enforce laws (71.1%).

To learn more of the results of this study, visit StudyLA’s full article here.

COVID-19 Research Study Grabs Attention from Local Los Angeles News Media

https://ktla.com/news/coronavirus/how-you-can-be-part-of-a-covid-19-research-study/

When a groundbreaking research study designed to measure the spread of COVID-19 launched in Los Angeles, CA the week of April 10, 2020, it didn’t take long for the local news media to take an interest.

Jacqueline Rosales, COO of SoapBoxSample/icanmakeitbetter, appeared on KTLA’s nightly 7 pm news broadcast, explaining to the public the intention of the study and how Angelenos can get involved.

“This is really groundbreaking research, to give us one piece that we are missing,” Jacqueline commented. “Without that piece it’s hard to understand, what is the prevalence, when is the peak, and how do we get people back to work?”

SoapBoxSample, an LRW Group company, recruited hundreds of Angelenos to participate in a new antibody study that took place April 10 and 11 across six testing locations throughout the county of Los Angeles. The new testing strategy hopes to shed light on many of the unanswered questions related to the coronavirus. To date, testing has mainly been performed on those who are very sick (and able to secure a test), and evidence suggests that there may be an unknown number of asymptomatic cases in the population.

“It can potentially identify people that are immune from the disease,” said Dr. Neeraj Sood, Vice Dean for Faculty Affairs and Research at USC Sol Price School of Public Policy, the principle investigator of the research initiative.

Working in partnership with researchers from the University of Southern California’s Price School of Public Policy and the LA County Health Department, SoapBoxSample, recruited a random sampling of hundreds of LA residents, both symptomatic and asymptomatic, to participate in a finger prick serological test, with the purpose of identifying the presence of COVID-19 antibodies. Researchers hope the results of the study may hold the key to when Southern California and the nation can return to a state of relative normalcy.

“This project gave us the opportunity to lift the spirits of our staff during a very difficult time, said Jacqueline. “Everyone involved in this research initiative was excited to give back to the LA community where we live and work.”