BODY: Perceptions of Crime and Policing

Participants were asked about their general perceptions of crime and policing in their area to get them thinking about the issues more broadly. This chapter will cover participants’ views on these issues, including differences in perceptions and opinions between the different subgroups. Their views provide a context to help an understanding of their opinions on police accountability and participation in decision-making.

Policing

The BCS has highlighted a fall in public confidence in the police since 1996 with only just under half (47%) of people in the 2001/2 sweep of the BCS believing they do a good or excellent job, compared with 64 per cent in 1996 (Flood-Page and Taylor, eds., 2003). Nonetheless, they still receive the highest ratings out of all of the criminal justice agencies. The recent Home Office citizenship survey found that people trusted the police and courts more than political institutions, such as local authorities, and that they trusted local institutions more than national ones (Attwood et al., 2003). To some extent, a lack of confidence in the police was reflected in the focus groups.

Visibility

One of the main issues was a perceived lack of police visibility, in particular foot patrol, as noted in numerous other studies of public views (see for example Bradley, 1998). There was a consensus across all the groups that they rarely saw the police patrolling on foot and that when they did see the police they were generally in a car. Some of the urban participants said they only saw police officers on foot for specific events such as football matches. The majority wanted to see more ‘Bobbies on the beat’. They believed that having police officers patrolling on foot acted as a deterrent to potential criminals. The BCS found that 16 per cent of respondents felt that patrolling on foot should be the most important police priority above actually targeting particular crimes such as burglary or drugs offences (Flood-Page and Taylor, eds., 2003). The groups also indicated that seeing officers on foot made them feel safe from harm when they were out on the streets:

“...and there’s just plenty of police around. You thought ‘well there’s someone around who can sort something out if anything goes down’.” (male, 18-29, urban, north)

Police officers were often seen in cars but the participants equated this with responding to crime, 'trouble', catching speeding motorists or just driving around. This contrasted with their views of foot patrol, as they did not see car patrols as providing a deterrent or making them feel safe. One group made a direct link between what they saw as a fall in foot patrol and the rise in crime. One person in London, who thought that the number of officers on foot was increasing, saw this as a positive thing. Many associated officer visibility with the concept of the police doing a good job, believing that if you did not see the police you assumed that they were not doing anything, and lack of visibility contributed towards feelings of insecurity.Accessibility

There was a strong feeling across the groups felt that the police are only concerned with serious incidents and wanted to be reassured that they were also available for the less serious incidents and problems. Again this was a reason why having a ‘local Bobby’ seemed to be attractive idea. They believed that such a figure would be available to talk to about community issues and smaller problems.

Across all of the groups there was a perception that their local police stations were inaccessible – being either closed or open part-time. When individuals had phoned their local station they found that the phones were not manned or were permanently on answerphone. It was very rare for the participants to know their local station phone number and many said

they would simply call 999. There was a shared desire to be able to speak to someone directly over the phone.

Inappropriate priorities and a lack of response

There seemed to be a consensus that the police had inappropriate priorities and that they were not concentrating their energies in the right places. An example of this is the perception that the police target motorists because they are an easy group to focus their efforts on. There was a feeling in several groups that there was little point in reporting minor crimes because the police would not respond. Where individuals from different groups had reported crimes a few of them felt that there was a lack of communication or feedback from the police, and that ultimately no action was taken. It was a common perception that police response times were too slow when they did attend crimes.

Police officers’ attitudes, discrimination and integrity

A police officer’s attitude and communication skills were considered, primarily by the urban groups, to be an important factor in whether they believed the police were doing a good job or not. There were several instances across all the groups of police officers being rude and abrupt or asking what were perceived to be unnecessary questions. This is supported by the BCS finding that just under one fifth of adults interviewed could recall being really annoyed with a police officer during the previous five years, of whom 43 per cent said this was due to the police officer’s manner (Flood-Page and Taylor, eds., 2003). The minority ethnic focus groups were also more likely to think that the police were heavy handed and sometimes violent towards suspects:

“They give me a beating for no reason whatsoever....They’re not doing their jobs properly out there.” (male,18-29, urban, north)

Whilst only participants in one group from the general population felt that the police discriminated against or stereotyped people from minority ethnic groups, all of the minority ethnic groups shared this perception. There was a feeling amongst some participants in the 18-29 year old (minority ethnic) groups that someone from a minority ethnic group is more likely to be stopped and searched than a white person in a similar situation. Some of the participants in the older minority ethnic groups felt that the police didn’t take them seriously when they reported crimes, and that the police did not trust them. Other participants from minority ethnic groups thought that the police were still ‘institutionally racist’, had negative attitudes towards minority communities and were slow in responding to them (this was felt most strongly by the non-English-speaking group). Some of the minority ethnic groups mentioned police recruitment of minority ethnic officers as a possible means of increasing trust and confidence (as did one other group of mixed ethnicity) and felt that they were under- represented at present.

There was a feeling amongst participants in a few of the groups that some police officers thought that they were ‘above the law’ because they broke the law and got away with it, for example by retiring on a full pension without being disciplined. A few individuals within various groups also mentioned the issue of police corruption more specifically, for example, the police dealing in drugs and abuses of power such as not reading suspects their rights when arresting them. These were generally examples that they had heard about through the press or other media, or through friends and relatives. As stated above, only the minority ethnic groups mentioned examples of physical violence from police officers

Whether the police are doing a good job

Amongst people aged 30 or more there was a feeling that crime levels were higher now than in the past. Many participants in these groups also felt that policing was better in the past when there was a ‘beat bobby’. There was a consensus amongst these groups that the young people today did not respect the police and that they were often abusive towards the police. Participants from the 18-29 year old groups on the other hand, stated that young people were

intimidated by the police and felt that the police did not respect them. The BCS found that three-quarters of respondents said that they personally view the police with respect, however only 26 per cent said that the police are viewed with respect by society today (Flood-Page and Taylor, eds., 2003). Overall the younger participants thought that young people viewed the police in a negative way. Across the groups there was some feeling that there was a lack of trust and confidence in the police, and that the police did not communicate or liaise with the community. There was a perception amongst many of the groups that if the police were performing well there would be less crime and individuals would feel safe.

However, in contrast to this there was some recognition of the difficulties that the police face and of the constraints placed on them. There was a strong feeling that crime levels were too high for the police to manage and that they therefore had to prioritise crimes by their seriousness. People over 30 were more likely than younger people to believe that there are not enough police officers and that they do not receive enough funding. Several participants in different groups mentioned what they considered to be the excessive paperwork or red tape as a factor that hinders the police in doing their job. There was a fairly strong perception that the press tended to report negative police stories and that the public was less likely to hear about the positive things that the police do.

When asked about any positive experiences of the police there were individuals across the groups who had received a positive and effective response from the police. The most commonly cited example of good police-community work was police officers going into schools to talk to children. This seemed to have left a positive impression of police work across the groups. Another shared positive impression of the police seemed to stem from individual police officers that participants had met and remembered because they thought that they were ‘doing a good job’. This was defined by the participants as being friendly and approachable, reliable and providing a quick and effective response. However, with one or two exceptions, this was the view of the participants aged 30 or more and the police officers were generally people they had known in the past.

Participants in the same age group (including minority ethnic groups) were also more likely to think that the police did not have enough power or authority and that they had more in the past. Participants in some of these groups thought that the law actually prevents the police from doing their job. This was particularly expressed in relation to young people, who some participants believed could not be arrested or punished due to a lack of police power. However, some young participants also felt that this was true:

“There’s so many laws that when the police are there they can’t do anything like with teaching, it’s completely changed now, you have to be so careful...” (male, 18-29, urban, north)

There was a perception amongst several groups that the courts share the blame as they do not support the police enough and fail to punish offenders adequately.

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