The results in a recent survey evaluating the MSU police department had more to do with the amount of contact with officers, and less with positive or negative experiences, officials said.

The department was rated lower by females, members of fraternities and sororities and people who identified themselves as lesbian, bi, gay or transgender.

MSU students also rated the department lower then university staff.

Larry Hembroff, director of the Office for Survey Research at MSU, said the survey was random and not every person questioned had contact with MSU police officers. Hembroff was involved in conducting the 1,000-person survey. Hembroff said the lower ratings might have more to do with the amount of contact those surveyed had with MSU officers, public opinion or stories heard in the news.

"The people who answered negatively weren't doing so based on direct experience," he said. "They stereotypically responded to what they perceive of police officers in general.

"That tells you that some people are taking their performance based on no actual experience."

Mahfouz Ackall, Interfraternity Council vice president for recruitment, said he couldn't explain why greek members would give lower ratings to campus officers.

Because most fraternity and sorority members live in off-campus houses, Ackall said more contact is made with the city of East Lansing police.

Natalie Furrow, executive board chairperson for the Alliance of Lesbian-Bi-Gay-Transgender and Straight Ally Students, said she can understand why those who identify as LBGT could have rated officers lower.

"I've heard a lot of students on campus say they have been harassed or say they don't feel (police) understand their issues," Furrow said. "Most of the people who have been harassed have not been comfortable to come forward about it because of a fear of police."

MSU police Sgt. Florene McGlothian-Taylor said she didn't think the negative results had anything to do with conflicts between officers and those groups.

"Not everybody is going to have a positive relationship with the police," she said.

McGlothian-Taylor said people who identify themselves as lesbian, bi, gay or transgender might have rated the department lower because they didn't have contact with MSU police. She said the department has a staff liaison that handles LBGT concerns.

"Our goal is to improve that relationship," she said. "We want to be open and available to anyone that may need our assistance."

Furrow said she would like to see more being done to strengthen the relationship with officers.

"Unfortunately the responsibility gets put on the liaison rather than the police department to make change," Furrow said. "But I do think that it's a step in the right direction."

The phone survey was taken by 1,016 students, faculty and staff chosen at random in spring 2003.

Hembroff said increasing the sample size would dramatically increase the cost but would have no impact on the results except that it would decrease the margin of error. The margin of error for the survey was about 3 percent.

"After a while its too expensive to be that precise," he said. "For the most part, it's plenty precise enough."