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of 5 19 <br />Online Q3: Please share any other thoughts about your feelings of safety in Eugene <br />SRI Phase 1: No similar question <br />There were 1,706 individual responses (136 pages of text) to this question. The content analysis of the data <br />revealed these dominant themes: concerns about homelessness, concerns about Downtown Eugene, concerns about <br />property crimes, concerns about the safety of bike paths and parks, and concerns about police response. Within each <br />category of concern, there were multiple related subcategories. Less dominant themes in the data revealed concerns about <br />traffic safety in Eugene, the increase in bias and hate crimes, increased white supremacy activities, and concerns about <br />attracting more homeless people if additional services were offered. While there were generally supportive comments <br />about police and the need to increase the number of police, there were a small number of negative comments that <br />described the respondents’ fear and distrust of police. <br />Homelessness <br />By far the most common theme was about homelessness and associated issues (subcategories) that respondents <br />perceived to be directly related to homelessness. The subcategories included drug use, public health issues (sanitation, <br />discarded needles), perceptions of decreased safety due to the presence of homeless people, and a desire for people <br />perceived to be homeless to “move on,” or have them forcibly removed. There were strong connections made between <br />homelessness, drug use, mental illness, aggressive panhandling/harassment, and crime. Many respondents expressed <br />frustration stemming from their perception that the City was paying more attention to the homeless population downtown <br />than to residents and businesses, and there was a prominent cry to “do something.” <br />There was an implicit differentiation between people feeling “unsafe” and feeling “uncomfortable.” Toolis and <br />Hammack (2015) described this difference as being related to how privileged residents (housed) perceive and define public <br />spaces in ways that essentially exclude unhoused people and move toward an ideology of privatizing so called public <br />spaces to prohibit sitting, standing, panhandling, and sleeping in those areas—essentially to create clear “in- <br />groups” (housed people) and “out-groups” (unhoused people). The difference between feeling unsafe and feeling <br />uncomfortable was present in the data and was associated with different suggested solutions to the problem. Generally, <br />respondents who reported feeling unsafe were more likely to suggest removing homeless people from the area. <br />Respondents who implied they were uncomfortable with seeing homeless people were more inclined to suggest increased <br />social services. Many people mentioned their support of CAHOOTS and their desire to increase their services. <br />Downtown <br />Most of the concerns centered around the Downtown area, with most comments being related in some way to <br />homelessness. Subcategories included the perceptions that Downtown is not family friendly, particularly unsafe for women, <br />that the area is unsafe especially at night, and that the presence of homeless people has created a public health issue (lack <br />of sanitation and discarded needles). Some respondents replied that they either live or work Downtown, and their <br />comments echoed the concerns about homelessness and decreased safety. A smaller subset of respondents claimed they <br />have lived in other large metropolitan areas and that Downtown Eugene is relatively safe in comparison. Another <br />subcategory was a concern that increased police presence downtown (although appreciated) had pushed problems to <br />surrounding areas including the Whitaker neighborhood and the Washington Jefferson Street area. <br />Property Crime <br />Respondents were concerned about the increase in property crime in their neighborhoods that included <br />Downtown, West Eugene, Goodpasture Loop, Delta Ponds, River Road and Santa Clara. Many respondents reported that <br />their homes/cars had been burglarized, property vandalized, and items stolen from their yards. There was a strong <br />connection made between homeless people, illegal camping, and property crime. There was a general concern about the <br />lack of/slow response from police. <br />September 26, 2018, Work Session – Item 1