policing priorities research report prepared for the police federation of england and wales january...

Policing PrioritiesResearch report prepared for the Police Federation of England and WalesJanuary 2011

Strictly embargoed until 0001hrs Thursday 24th February 2011

Survey methodology

Background and methodology This report presents the findings of research undertaken for the

Police Federation of England and Wales between 7th and 13th January 2011

Data presented are based on 1,141 completed interviews conducted with adults aged 15 and over across England and Wales. Data are weighted by age, gender, social class, working status and Government Office Region

to reflect the population profile Interviews were conducted face-to-face in people’s homes using

the Ipsos MORI omnibus survey This research has been undertaken to explore the general

public’s view on which aspects of policing should be prioritised.

Interpretation and publication of the data

When interpreting the findings, it is important to remember that the results are subject to sampling tolerances, and that not all differences, particularly between sub-groups of respondents, will be statistically significant. A detailed set of computer tables (provided separately) identifies where differences between sub-groups are significant or not.

As with all Ipsos MORI studies, findings from this survey are subject to our standard Terms and Conditions of Contract. Any press release or publication of the findings of this survey requires the advance approval of Ipsos MORI. Such approval will only be refused on the grounds of inaccuracy or misrepresentation.

Attitudes towards the police

Do the public consider that the police are doing a good job in their local area?

The majority of the general public are positive about the work that the police do in their local area. Three in five (59%) say that the police are doing a good or excellent job. A quarter (28%) rate their performance as fair, while around one in ten (9%) say that the police are doing a poor or very poor job.

More than one in three respondents (35%) say that they have had some contact with the police over the last twelve months. These respondents are more likely to say that the police are performing poorly in their local area compared with those who have not had any contact (12% and 7% respectively). This could reflect the background and local / personal situation rather than reflecting the handling of the contact per se.

8%

51%28%

6%4%

3%

Ratings of local policing

Fair

Excellent

Don’t know

Poor

Good

Very poor

Base: 1,141 British adults aged 15+, Ipsos MORI Omnibus, 7 th – 13th January 2010

Q Taking everything into account, how good a job do you think the police in this local area are doing?

Excellent / Good - 59%Poor

9%

Contact with policeYes No

Excellent / Good 59% 60%

Poor / Very poor 12% 7%

Which services do people think the police are most responsible for?

Which services do the public think the police provide? More than four in five members of the general public (84%) think

that the police are most likely to be responsible, where appropriate, for intervening in domestic rows and disputes. Two in five (39%) think that the police are responsible for monitoring offenders who have been released from prison compared with four in five (79%) who say the same about the probation service.

Around a quarter (23%) think that the police are responsible for arranging for vulnerable children to be taken into care, a proportion similar to that who think the Local Council is responsible for this service. Higher proportions think that this service is the responsibility of Social Services (86%).

Smaller proportions think that assisting people with mental health issues, or helping to run youth clubs are the responsibility of the police (13% and 9% respectively).

84%

39%

23%

13%

9%

Which services do the public think the police are responsible for?

Intervening in domestic rows and disputes where appropriate

Monitoring offenders who have been released from prison

Arranging for vulnerable children to be taken into care

Assisting people with mental health issues who are behaving in

a confused or disturbed wayHelping to run youth clubs and

other community activities


Q Which of the organisations on this card do you think are responsible for providing the following services?

% who say the police are responsible

86%23%23%

17%16%

9%6%

2%1%

Perceived responsibility for vulnerable children

Arranging for vulnerable children to be taken into care

Social services

PoliceLocal Council

Health service

Schools

Charity/voluntary group

Probation service

Housing Association

Private companies



84%28%

9%6%

4%4%4%

2%1%

Perceived responsibility for intervening in domestic disputes

Intervening in domestic rows and disputes where appropriate

Social services

Police

Local Council

Health service

Schools


Probation service

Housing Association

Private companies



60%58%

27%17%

9%8%

4%4%3%

Perceived responsibility for running community activities

Helping to run youth clubs and other community activities

Social services

Police

Local Council

Health service

Schools


Probation service

Housing Association

Private companies



79%39%

13%9%

4%3%

1%1%1%

Perceived responsibility for monitoring offenders


Social services

Police

Local Council

Health service

Schools


Probation service

Housing Association

Private companies



78%45%

18%13%

10%3%3%3%

1%

Perceived responsibility for assisting people with mental health issues

Assisting people with mental health issues who are behaving in a confused or disturbed way

Social services

PoliceLocal Council

Health service

Schools


Probation service

Housing Association

Private companies



Which activities do people think the police should prioritise?

Which activities are considered to be the most important for the police to provide? Respondents were shown a list of different police activities and

asked which they felt were most important for the police to prioritise, and which they felt were less important.

Almost three in five (57%) say that it is most important that the police provide care for victims and witnesses of crime, while around a half say that monitoring offenders who have been released from prison and intervening in domestic rows and disputes is important, (52% and 48% say this respectively).

A third (34%) say that arranging for vulnerable children to be taken into care is an important activity undertaken by police, while three in ten (31%) say the same about police working to improve relations between communities. In relation to each of these activities, around one in ten consider that these are less important priorities for the police.

57%

52%

48%

34%

31%

3%

5%

6%

11%

11%

Q Which three or four activities do you think are the most important for police to provide?

Q And which do you think are less important for police to provide?

Priority activities for the police

Caring for victims and witnesses


Intervening in domestic rows and disputes

Arranging for vulnerable children to be taken into

careWorking to improve relations

between local communities


Most important Less important

…and which activities are considered to be less important for the police to provide? Two in five (40%) say that dealing with flooding is a less important

responsibility for the police, a finding which is reflected by the relatively small proportions who consider this activity to be a priority.

More than a third say that helping to run youth clubs and assisting with non-crime emergencies are less important services for the police to provide (36% and 35% say this respectively). While 13% say that helping to run youth clubs is an important activity for the police, only half as many (7%) say the same about assisting with non-crime emergencies.

With regard to the other activities undertaken by police the difference between the proportions who say the each of the activities are important and those that say that they are not is less marked. Around a quarter (23%) say that dealing with aggressive pupils in schools is not an important activity for police while 16% prioritise this activity.

In relation to dealing with aggressive patients in hospitals and assisting people with mental health issues the proportions of those who say that the activity is important for the police and the proportions who say that the activity is less important are very similar.

16%

15%

13%

12%

7%

4%

23%

15%

36%

11%

35%

40%

Q Which three or four activities do you think are the most important for police to provide?

Q And which do you think are less important for police to provide?

Dealing with aggressive pupils in schools

Dealing with aggressive patients in hospitals

Helping to run youth clubs and other community activities

Assisting people with mental health issues

Assisting with non-crime emergencies



Dealing with flooding in local areas

Less important activities

Which types of crime are considered to be the most important for the police to deal with? In addition to the activities outlined above, respondents were

shown a list of crime types and again asked to prioritise these. Seven in ten (71%) people say that burglary of people’s

homes is a priority crime for the police to deal with. In addition, more than half say that it is important for police to deal with drunken / yobbish behaviour in public places and drunk driving (57% and 54% respectively).

Around two in five (38%) say that dealing with the use of heroin and other hard drugs is important for police, as do more than a third (36%) in relation to vandalism and damage to property. Three in ten prioritise theft of motor cars.

Reflecting the relatively high proportions saying that these types of crime are priorities for the police, the proportions who say that these are less important are small.

71%

57%

54%

38%

36%

30%

2%

4%

2%

5%

3%

4%

Q Which three or four types of crime do you think are the most important for police to focus on?

Q And which do you think are less important for police to focus on?

Burglary of people’s houses

Drunken / Yobbish behaviour in public places

Drunk driving

Use of heroin and other hard drugs

Vandalism and damage to property



Theft of motor cars

Priority crime types

…And which types of crime are considered to be the least important for the police to deal with? Two in five say that illegal betting and gaming is a less

important crime for police to deal with, while around a quarter say the same about the use of cannabis (26%) and shoplifting (25%). For one in five, prostitution and the sale of cigarettes, alcohol or pornography represent less important types of criminal activity (22% and 21% respectively). In each of these cases, one in ten or fewer think that the crime type should be prioritised by the police.

One in ten think that dealing with violence at football matches should be prioritised, though the difference between this and the proportion who disagree is much less marked than in the cases mentioned above; 14% take the opposing view. Similarly, around one in ten think that bag snatching and pick-pocketing is important compared with 15% who disagree.

15%

10%

10%

9%

8%

7%

2%

9%

14%

21%

26%

25%

22%

39%

Q Which three or four types of crime do you think are the most important for police to focus on?

Q And which do you think are less important for police to focus on?

Bag snatching and pick-pocketing

Violence at football matchesSale of cigarettes/alcohol/

pornography to people under age

Use of cannabis / marijuana

Shoplifting



Prostitution

Less important crimes for police focus

Illegal betting and gaming

Levels of concern around cuts in police budgets

Are people worried about the effect of cuts to police budgets? The majority of people say that they would be worried if the police stopped

providing the full range of services discussed due to cuts in the police budget. Almost nine in ten (86%) take this view, with more than two in five saying that they would be very worried.

By sub-group, women and those aged 65+ are more likely to say that they are worried about the potential effects of police budget cuts, as are those in mortgaged or owned accommodation. In contrast, those aged 15-24, those living in rented accommodation and those living in metropolitan areas are less likely to say that they are worried about the potential impact of any cuts, though the majority of these groups still state concern.

Nine in ten (90%) of those who rate their local police as excellent or good say that they are worried about the potential effect of police budget cuts compared with around four in five (82%) of those who rate their local police as fair and less than four in five (79%) who rate their local police as poor or very poor.

10%3%

42%

44%

Attitude towards cuts in police budgets

Not at all worried

Don’t know (1%)

Fairly worried

Not very worried

Very worried


How worried, if at all, would you be if the police stopped providing the full range of services we have discussed due to budget cuts?

Not worried 13%

Worried86%

86%

84%88%

80%86%

89%92%

% worried

All respondents

MaleFemale

15-3435-5455-64

65+

Attitude towards cuts in police budgets – by key sub-groupHow worried, if at all, would you be if the police stopped providing the full range of services we have discussed due to budget cuts?

Base: British adults aged 15+, Ipsos MORI Omnibus, 7 th – 13th January 2010

Base

Gender

Age

269

195357320

562579

1,114

86%

88%79%

90%82%

79%

% worried

All respondents

Mortgaged/Owned

Rented

Excellent / GoodFair

Poor / Very poor

Attitude towards cuts in police budgets – by key sub-groupHow worried, if at all, would you be if the police stopped providing the full range of services we have discussed due to budget cuts?

Base: British adults aged 15+, Ipsos MORI Omnibus, 7 th – 13th January 2010

Base

Tenure

Perception of police

1,114

769288

663

318112

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