Over 80% of People Satisfied With Garda Service to Their Local Community – Q1 2018 Garda Public Attitudes Survey
• Victimisation rate falls to 5.2% with 87% of victims interviewed stating they had reported their most recent crime incident to An Garda Síochána
• 64% of people say fear of crime has no impact on their quality of life
• Trust in An Garda Síochána at 88%
• Perceptions of the Garda organisation across measures of effectiveness and capability all increased since Q3 2017
• Among new questions relating to service provided to local community – 79% of people say Gardaí can be relied to be there when you need them, 84% believe local Gardaí listen to concerns of local people
Over 80% of respondents (81%) said they were either very satisfied or satisfied with the service provided by An Garda Síochána to local communities, and the public’s trust in the organisation remains high at 88%, according to the Q1 2018 Garda Public Attitudes Survey.
The survey found that in Q1 2018, 74% of respondents perceived national crime to be a very serious or serious problem, while 20% considered local crime to be a very serious of serious problem.
The number of people saying they were victims of crime has fallen year-on-year,
The survey found that the victimisation rate for Q1 2018 was 5.2% down from 6.9% in Q1 2017.
The latest survey did find a 3% fall in satisfaction among victims of crime reporting their crime to Gardaí from 67% in Q1 2017 to 64% in Q1 2018. There was also a 6% fall year-on-year in relation to whether victims felt the right amount of information had been provided to them.
According to the survey, the vast majority of people - 64% - say that fear of crime has no impact on their quality of life. In Q1 2018, 46% of respondents said that they did not worry about becoming a victim of crime, and one in three (33%) said they had no fears about the level of crime in general.
Perceptions of the Garda organisation across measures of effectiveness and capability all increased since Q3 2017. Friendly and helpful (up 4%); community focused (up 3%); modern or progressive (up 3%); effective in tackling crime (up 3%), well managed (up 3%), and provides a world-class service (up 3%).
The Public Attitudes Survey is one of a number of tools used by Garda management to determine future organisational and operational activity.
Commenting on the survey findings, Deputy Commissioner, Policing and Security, John Twomey said: "The high level of satisfaction with the service provided to local communities is a tribute to the dedication of Garda members and staff. The reduction in the number of people saying they were victims of crime over the last year is also very welcome. The fall in victim satisfaction is a concern though and we will look at ways to improve this, along with ensuring victims have all the information they need and are entitled to.”
The main findings of An Garda Síochána’s Public Attitudes Survey for Q1 2018 are:
Perceptions of Crime
- In Q1 2018, 74% of people perceived national crime to be either a very serious or serious problem, compared to 20% of respondents who considered crime in their local area to be a very serious or serious problem. These proportions have remained relatively stable over recent survey sweeps
Victims of Crime
- In Q1 2018, the victimisation rate was 5.2%. This compares with a rate of 6.9% for the same quarter last year
- During Q1 2018, 87% of victims interviewed said they had reported their most recent crime incident. This is 3% higher compared to Q1 2017
- Satisfaction among victims of crime who reported their crime to An Garda Síochána fell 3% between Q1 2017 (67%) and Q1 2018 (64%)
- 51% of victims felt the right amount of information had been provided to them. This is down 6% from Q1 2017
Fear and Worry about Crime
- During Q1 2018 46% of respondents said they did not worry about becoming a victim of crime – this is a 2% decrease from Q1 2017
- 64% of people reported that their fear of crime had no impact on their quality of life – down 3% from Q1 2017
- Approximately one in three (33%) reported that they had no fear about crime in general, down 5% from Q1 2017
Garda Visibility
- In Q1 2018, 37% of respondents were aware of Garda patrols in their local area
- In Q1 2018, 39% of respondents considered Garda presence in their local area to be at about the right level
Satisfaction with An Garda Síochána
- In Q1 2018, 81% of respondents (72% when don’t knows are included) said they were either very satisfied or satisfied with the service provided by An Garda Síochána to local communities
- 79% agreed that Gardaí in their area can be relied upon to be there when you need them*
- Approximately 1 in 3 (35%) believed that community relations with police are poor and 38% agreed that police are not dealing with the things that matter to people in this community*
Trust in An Garda Síochána
- In Q1 2018, 88% of respondents stated they had a mid to high level of trust in An Garda Síochána.
Equality of treatment
- 93% of respondents in the Q1 2018 survey said they felt members of An Garda Síochána would treat them with respect if they had contact with them for any reason
- When asked if Gardaí in their area treat everyone fairly regardless of who they are, 82% of people agreed. This drops to 64% when don’t know responses are included
Perceptions of the Garda Organisation
- In Q1 2018, 94% of respondents agreed that members of An Garda Síochána were friendly or helpful (up 2% from Q1 2017), 72% agreed that the organisation was community focused (down 1% from Q1 2017), 68% thought the organisation was modern or progressive (up 1% from Q1 2017), 65% said it was effective in tackling crime (up 3% from Q1 2017), 46% said it was well managed (down 6% from Q1 2017), and 44% thought An Garda Síochána provides a world-class police service (down 1% from Q1 2017).
The Garda Public Attitudes Survey, which is conducted by Amárach Research on behalf of An Garda Síochána, asks a nationally representative sample of 1,500 people each quarter their views on a range of issues relating to An Garda Síochána. The Q1 2018 survey was conducted between January and March of this year.
The Q1 2018 Public Attitudes Survey Bulletin is available from https://tinyurl.com/y783fapf.
Note:
It must be noted that as analysis is done on smaller proportions such as victims of crime – for instance 78 respondents to the survey experienced victimisation in the previous 12 months – the margin of error increases, therefore such changes should be interpreted with caution.
*New questions added to the Q1 2018 Survey
