Report Summary
This report provides members of the Scottish Police Authority Policing Performance Committee with an overview of the findings from the latest round of public polling, carried out during January 2024 by the Diffley Partnership on behalf of the Authority. The paper also describes the next steps regarding polling and a move to incorporate qualitative research into the analytic approach in 2024-25.
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Meeting
The publication discussed was referenced in the meeting below
Policing Performance Committee - 12 March 2024
Date : 12 March 2024
Location : online
Trust and Confidence in Policing
In general terms, the pattern of both confidence and trust in the police in Scotland has continued to fall from levels reported previously, however most people with a view in Scotland are positive, or at least not negative, about whether policing in general is doing a good job (74% of people), with trust strongest for local policing (a rating of 5.81 out of 10).
Confidence in the police to maintain public safety and tackle crime continues to be much higher than confidence in tackling antisocial behaviour or in building stronger, more cohesive communities. The SPA-Police Scotland Community Confidence Action Research Project has gathered a significant amount evidence from four communities in Scotland to confirm this position that concern about how antisocial is being tackled in communities affects trust and confidence.
As has been reported previously to the Committee, there is disparity in confidence and trust within the overall results by deprivation, gender, region of Scotland, occupational grouping and health. As a summary of the key variations:
o males have lower trust and confidence
o Working class people have lower trust and confidence
o trust and confidence is lower in deprived communities
o people with a limiting health condition have lower trust
o people in urban areas, particularly in Glasgow, have lower confidence and trust
The report provided by the Diffley Partnership (Appendix A) expands on these main findings and explores variations by location and other socio-economic and demographic factors.
