What makes places safer from the citizen's point of view?

Jena is considered a safe city. This is confirmed by citizens, visitors - and the statistics. Nevertheless, some people also feel uneasy in some places in Jena. The city council has therefore commissioned the Lord Mayor to identify those areas in Jena where there is a feeling of unease or anxiety and to develop measures to ensure that these places are perceived as safer and more appealing in future.

In order to obtain as comprehensive an assessment as possible, the city of Jena is therefore launching a citizen survey as a first step towards implementing the resolution from Thursday, February 1, 2024: a total of 10,000 randomly selected citizens of Jena will receive a letter over a period of four weeks. In it, the recipients will be asked to take part in the survey via the link https://jena.de/sicher using an access code. "Participation is of course voluntary. However, we ask all those who receive mail in the next few weeks to take part in the survey. The more feedback we receive, the more accurate the conclusions we can draw and consider in a downstream process within the administration with the stakeholders involved," says Benjamin Koppe, Head of Security.

One aim of the survey is to first identify the places that are perceived as unsafe. However, measures and possible suggestions for improvement will also be asked: for example, would citizens like more lighting in certain areas, better visibility in certain areas - or something completely different? The survey also asks what makes various places attractive and appealing to citizens.

The citizens' survey will be accompanied by the Chair of Statistics and Econometrics at the Otto Friedrich University of Bamberg, which will evaluate the survey results using a special method for analyzing small-scale territorial units. The responses will be used exclusively in anonymized form so that they cannot be traced back to individual persons.

After the evaluation, according to the draft resolution, initiatives and associations as well as security authorities and local district councils are to be involved in further steps in order to discuss and, if necessary, implement possible measures. After two to three years, the extent to which these steps have been effective will be reviewed.