Survey: Public perception of policing remains high

SEVEN in ten people would feel comfortable filing a complaint about police officers, a study has shown.

And two thirds of people are “happy” or “very happy” with their treatment following a complaint, according to the poll carried out on behalf of the Independent Police Complaints Commission, earlier this year.

Steve Evans, vice chairman of the Police Federation of England and Wales (PFEW), said: “We are pleased that 73 per cent of people would feel comfortable filing a complaint about police officers and hope these numbers will increase in the future.

“Public perception of policing has remained consistently high over the past ten years and this is in part due to the fact that the public see tangible results when they make complaints”

However, overall satisfaction with the way people are dealt with by police in England and Wales has dropped significantly in the past three years, the police watchdog’s poll showed.

Ipsos Mori carried out the survey of more than 4,000 people in England and Wales in February and March on behalf of the IPCC.

One in three people told the survey they were not confident that if they complained to the police it would be handled fairly.

And those from ethnic minority groups showed less satisfaction than those from white backgrounds. Black and minority ethnic respondents were less likely to say they would complain, and more likely to fear harassment if they did so, the survey showed.

Mr Evans added: “Of course the lower numbers of confidence among people from ethnic minorities is an issue we need to address and improve on in the future.

“It is vital for the future of British policing that there is a strong, independent body capable of effectively dealing with police complaints and the public have confidence in these processes.”