Service by police is getting worse, says survey

EIGHTEEN per cent of people think the levels of service provided by local police have got worse over the past year, newly published research states.

A survey of 26,000 people, carried out for HM Inspector of Constabulary, found that while 65% of people do not feel levels of service provided by local police have changed over the past year, 18% think it has got worse.

The survey also showed that 36% of respondents had not seen a police officer on patrol over a period of 12 months. Another 23% said they had seen police on foot only once or twice over a year.

The study was carried out by Ipsos Mori on behalf of HM Inspectorate of Constabulary to monitor public views of policing.

The research also found that those living in the most deprived neighbourhoods are more likely to report having seen a uniformed police presence on foot.

Age has an impact on feelings of safety, with 33% of 16-24 year olds feeling unsafe, compared with 21% of those aged 65 and over.

Nationally, the majority feel that crime and anti-social behaviour is not much of a problem (62%), while a further one in 10 do not consider it a problem at all.

A quarter of respondents believe that crime and anti-social behaviour is a big problem in their local area.

National Police Chiefs’ Council Lead for Local Policing, Chief Constable Simon Cole, focused on the fact that 76% of people are “satisfied in policing”.

He added: “This is a reflection of the positive work that has been done by forces to engage with the public on the issues that matter to them. The importance of communication and engagement stands out of this research. Those who feel more informed about their local police and are confident they can get hold of police when needed feel safer.

“Targeted police patrol is one important form of engagement that also enables officers to build relationships with communities, gather intelligence and intervene early to solve problems and prevent crime. But people are living more of their lives online so we’ve also invested in engagement through digital channels so that more people have easy access to their local police.”