Public confidence in PSNI remains high, survey shows

Justice Minister Naomi Long said this reflects the public’s acknowledgement of the “exceptional work” the PSNI does.

The Research and Statistical Bulletin ‘Experience of Crime and Perceptions of Crime and Policing and Justice: Findings from the 2023/24 Northern Ireland Safe Community Telephone Survey’ was released on Wednesday (July 2).

Overall public confidence in the police and police accountability arrangements was 80 per cent in 2023/24, similar to the 2022/23 figure of 81 per cent.

Responding to the survey, Ms Long said: “It is great to see that public confidence in the police and police accountability arrangements has remained high at around 80 per cent in 2023/24.

“This is particularly welcoming when considering the challenges the PSNI have been facing in terms of workforce levels.

“I have been working closely with the chief constable and my Executive colleagues to ensure PSNI receives the funding it requires to recover its numbers.

“I will continue to push for more funding and am pleased that we now have a clear roadmap for delivering the officer numbers set out in the PSNI recovery plan.

“While there is no room for complacency it is reassuring to note that public confidence in policing remains high.

“This is a testament to the brave men and women of the PSNI who day and daily strive to keep our communities safe. The recent disorder we saw in Ballymena and other places across Northern Ireland shows how difficult a job policing is.

“It also shows how determined our police service is to keep our communities safe.”

In terms of the local police, 52 per cent rated them as doing an excellent or good job, 36 per cent considered them as doing a fair job, while 11 per cet rated their performance as poor or very poor.

While the excellent or good and fair ratings showed no statistically significant change from last year, there was a significant increase in the proportion who viewed their local police as doing a poor or very poor job, up from ten per cent in 2022/23.

Overall, 68 per cent felt that, when taking everything into account, they had confidence in the police in their area, similar to the figure of 70 per cent the previous year.

Confidence in community engagement dropped, with decreases observed in the proportions agreeing that the police and other agencies seek people’s views about the anti-social behaviour and crime issues that matter and that these issues are being dealt with, both down from 33 per cent to 29 per cent and 41 per cent to 37 per cent respectively between 2022/23 and 2023/24.

When asked about confidence in the criminal justice system (CJS), three-fifths (60 per cent) were very or fairly confident that the CJS as a whole in Northern Ireland is effective, while 63 per cent considered it to be fair. The latter saw a statistically significant decrease from 66 per cent in 2022/23.