Public perceptions of policing in England and Wales 2018
Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) today publishes its report ‘Public Perceptions of Policing in England and Wales 2018’ in partnership with BMG Research.
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Public perceptions of policing in England and Wales 2018
HMICFRS commissioned BMG Research to undertake a large-scale survey of the public to better understand its views about:
- satisfaction with local police force;
- perception of crime and police handling of crime;
- confidence in police;
- police visibility;
- contact with the police;
- legitimacy of the police;
- engagement with the police; and
- police responsibilities and priorities.
Overall, the report found that satisfaction with local police is relatively high. Over three-fifths of respondents (61%) say that they are satisfied, and only 12% are dissatisfied. Confidence in the police to deal effectively with a range of situations is high, with respondents most confident that police would be effective in dealing with an emergency.
When asked to choose from a list of crimes police should prioritise respondents were most likely to select:
- dealing with terrorism / extremism (49%);
- child sexual exploitation / abuse (46%); and
- and violent crime (41%).
The research also found that:
- more respondents would speak highly of the police (40%) than would be critical of them (18%);
- around two-thirds of respondents agree that their local police force would treat them fairly if they needed to contact them; and
- although the majority of respondents have seen a police officer or PCSO on foot at least once in the past year, a sizeable proportion (36%) have not.