A new survey from the Niagara Regional Police Service (NRPS) shows that most Niagara residents feel safe where they live but do not feel safe in downtown areas throughout the region. In addition, Niagara residents appear to have a moderate-to-high level of confidence in the NRPS overall while also reporting that safety in the region is on the decline.
Data collection for the survey took place between June 27 and Aug. 7, with more than 2,000 respondents.
Most respondents reported feeling safe in their own neighbourhood, with 69 per cent saying they felt safe or very safe. However, when considering Niagara overall, the safe or very safe number fell to just 45 per cent. And numbers dropped further still when respondents were asked about parks and trails, transit, and roads and intersections. The lowest perception of safety occurred in downtown areas.
Overall confidence in the NRPS was moderate to positive, with 46 per cent of respondents reporting moderate confidence and 28 per cent of respondents reporting high or very high confidence. Roughly 26 per cent of respondents reported little to no confidence.
However, those who had recent interactions with the NRPS generally rated their interactions positively, with 75 per cent of users reporting being treated professionally, 73 per cent saying they were treated with respect, and 66 reporting they felt listened to. The report also notes, though, that users had fewer positive ratings when it came to understanding what would happen next, receiving the support needed, and response times.
In terms of police visibility and overall community safety, the numbers were more negative. Twenty-two per cent felt that police had become more visible in their communities over the past year, while 30 per cent felt that police had in fact become less present. And 64 per cent of respondents felt Niagara had become less safe over the past year, compared to just six per cent who felt that it had improved.
In open-ended questions, respondents frequently reported concerns about downtown areas, visible disorder, drug activity, homelessness, traffic, and conditions of public spaces.
The 2026 survey was conducted as part of the 2026-2029 Strategic Plan, approved by the police board in October 2025. The NRPS say this year’s results will serve as a baseline with which to judge answers respondents provide in future years. As the first year of the strategic plan, this is the first year that this specific survey was conducted by the NRPS.
Jay Goldberg is the Canadian Affairs Manager at the Consumer Choice Center. He previously served as the Ontario Director at the Canadian Taxpayers Federation and a policy fellow at the Munk School of Public Policy and Global Affairs. Jay holds a Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Toronto.
