Public confidence in the police service has risen following the
police response to recent terrorist incidents, according to the
latest research carried out for Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of
Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS).
The research was carried out by Ipsos MORI to gauge the public’s
perceptions of crime, safety and local policing. The survey
of over 12,000 people across England and Wales is similar to work
carried out in 2015 and 2016 and was commissioned in order
to inform HMICFRS’ inspections into police efficiency,
effectiveness and legitimacy – the PEEL reports.
HM Inspector Matt Parr said:
“After a year in which the emergency services have faced some of
the most challenging incidents in recent times, it is encouraging
to see that the public’s confidence in the police to protect them
against terrorism has increased markedly, with over half of
people saying they are confident in the police response.
“Research carried out for us by Ipsos MORI has demonstrated that
the public still value their local police force. Most
participants – around two-thirds – identified that the response
of police to emergencies was the most vital service, and almost
three-quarters of respondents thought the police was effective in
doing this.
“The importance of visible local policing continues to resonate
with the public – over eight in ten said that it was important to
have a regular uniformed presence. But, the number of
people who have not seen a police presence in the last year has
risen from just over a third in 2015 to almost half this year.”
The main priorities for policing were identified by respondents
as:
-
· ‘responding
in person to emergencies’ – 67 percent;
-
· ‘tackling
crime of all types’ – 63 percent; and
-
· ‘countering
terrorism and extremism’ – 56 percent.
The research also found that:
- · Some
53 percent of people say they are satisfied with their police
service, broadly the same as last year;
- · The
proportion of people saying the service has got worse has
increased to 25 percent this year, compared to 20 percent last
year;
- · The
majority of participants consider the police to carry most
responsibility for the safety of victims of stalking and
harassment, missing people and victims of domestic abuse; and
-
· Interest
in what the police are doing locally has increased with four in
five saying they are interested, compared with three in four last
year.
The research demonstrated that 30 percent of people continue to
be concerned with crime and anti-social behaviour in their local
area in the last year, up from twenty five percent last
year. However, although online crime is generally
highlighted as a concern by the majority of participants (73
percent), this has dropped slightly from last year (82
percent).
