Residents of Morden are being asked to share their opinions to help the city's police service set ongoing objectives.   

They can do that by completing a short survey from the Morden Police Board.  

Board Chair Lee Bassett says many people may be unaware that the city's police service is governed by a board. 

"There's an act, the Police Services Act, which mandates the creation of these police boards. It's really important to me that people know there is an oversight and we take our police services very seriously. We really want to know about the values of our community, the needs of our community, so we can focus on what's best for our community."  

Board meetings are open to all members of the community, whether they want to listen or to speak. 

Having nailed down the mission, values, and vision for the service’s 2023-2028 Strategic Plan, Bassett says they are now at the next stage. 

"The last survey that we completed was in 2017. It told us overall that the residents in Morden feel safe living or visiting our community, which is great.  

Now, this survey will be a little bit different, and we want to know what keeps people up at night. You know, what criminal activities do our citizens feel are likely to happen in our community? We want to know what they're worrying about and where our police service can focus their efforts on, so people can continue to feel safe in our community." 

Bassett reassures it's very short, requiring only ten minutes to complete. 

"We're encouraging everyone who lives in Morden, visits in Morden, plays in Morden, and shops in Morden, to complete the survey. We only ask that one person complete the survey. So, as many people that live in a household that do, can complete the survey." 

Results gathered in the Community Engagement survey will be shared publicly, through the Police Service website. 

"So, once we do some brainstorming with our Chief, his sergeants, and the other members of the police board, we'll host a series of conversations with various groups in the community to discuss the survey results and to solicit some feedback from our stakeholders in our community for ideas that we should consider when we develop the overall priorities and objectives within the strategic plan." 

 The board could not fulfill its role without the collaboration of Police Chief Brad Neduzak, points out Bassett.  

"He's a wonderful individual to work with. He's very ingrained in the community and sincerely cares about the community and is always listening to what people have to say about his services. He cares about his team too. It's so obvious when he attends our meetings. We've got a great membership and we've got a great police service." 

Bassett emphasizes they want to hear from all citizens, including newcomers.  

"It's really, really important in a democratic society I guess you could say, and in our community, that people tell us what they're thinking." 

The survey can be accessed on the Morden Police service website. (link: https://mordenpolice.com/morden-police-community-engagement-survey ) Responses are entirely confidential and anonymous.