Public has more confidence in police than rest of CJS

The police service continues to have more public confidence than any other sector of the criminal justice system (CJS) but achieves lower satisfaction in its dealings with the public, a report reviewing responses from the British Crime Survey (BCS) published last week has indicated.

The Ministry of Justice report looks at responses to questions regarding confidence on the BCS between 2002/03 and 2007/08. In 2007/08 police remained the most highly rated group throughout this period, with 53 per cent of respondents saying that the police were doing an excellent or good job nationally.

The lowest-rated group was the youth courts, with 16 per cent saying that the youth courts were doing an excellent or good job nationally. All of the groups, apart from prisons and probation, showed an increase in 2007/08 compared with 2002/03.

However, Public confidence in the Criminal Justice System: findings from the British Crime Survey 2002/03 to 2007/08, also shows that overall, in 2007/08 victims were more likely to be satisfied with their ‘dealings with the other parts of the CJS’ than their ‘dealings with the police’; 72 per cent satisfaction compared with 59 per cent satisfaction.

Broken down into local criminal justice boards (LCJBs), Cheshire tends to have the greatest public confidence while Humberside has the least faith from its community.

Most people thought the CJS in Cheshire was very, or fairly, effective in reducing crime, bringing offenders to justice and meeting the needs of victims; reaching 44 per cent, 51 per cent and 41 per cent respectively in 2007/08.

Comparatively, in these three areas the least number of people questioned for the BCS were confident the CJS reduced crime, brought offenders to justice or met the needs of victims in Humberside, attaining 31 per cent, 35 per cent and 29 per cent respectively.

The greatest percentage increase in confidence in effectiveness in reducing crime was seen in Nottinghamshire, where it rose by 89 per cent, from 18 per cent to 34 per cent between 2002/03 and 2007/08. The only decrease was seen in Derbyshire, which saw confidence in this area fall by five per cent in the same period.

The greatest percentage increase in number of people who were very, or fairly, confident the CJS is effective in bringing offenders to justice was seen in Nottinghamshire, where confidence rose by 54 per cent, from 28 per cent to 43 per cent between 2002/03 and 2007/08. The greatest decrease was seen in North Wales, where confidence fell nine per cent, going from 47 per cent to 43 per cent of the public feeling this way.

The greatest percentage increase in people who were very, or fairly, confident that the CJS meets the needs of victims of crime was seen in Bedfordshire, where confidence rose by 60 per cent, up from 25 per cent to 40 per cent between 2002/03 and 2007/08, while the only reduction was seen in Gloucestershire, where confidence fell from 32 per cent to 30 per cent in the same period.

Other key findings of the report included:

•The 2007/08 BCS showed that 44 per cent of adults in England and Wales were confident that the “CJS was effective in bringing people who commit crimes to justice” compared with 39 per cent in 2002/03.
•There was a statistically significant increase in levels of confidence across nine of the 42 LCJBs between 2002/03 and 2007/08. There was a fall in one LCJB.
•At the national level in England and Wales, victim and witness satisfaction with the police and other CJS agencies remained stable from 2002/03 to 2007/08.
•The 2007/08 findings indicate that women were more likely to be confident in the CJS than men and that levels of confidence in the CJS were more likely to be higher among younger people, black and minority ethnic (BME) groups, those living in private rented accommodation and those who had not experienced crime in the past 12 months.