Public Perception of Seriousness of National and Local Crime Decreases Over Last Two Years – Garda Public Attitudes Survey 2018.
- Victimisation rate at 6%; this figure has been steadily declining since Q1 2016
- Near 10% increase in satisfaction with An Garda Síochána since 2016
- 90% of respondents trust An Garda Síochána
- Less than one in five (19%) perceive local crime as a ‘very serious’ or ‘serious’ crime - a 4% decrease from 2016
93% believe Gardaí would treat you with respect if you had contact with them for any reason - 86% of 16 and 17 year olds are satisfied with service provided by An Garda Síochána and they have less fear of crime than adults.
The public’s perception of the seriousness of crime at national and local level have both decreased over the last two years, according to the 2018 Annual Garda Public Attitudes Survey.
According to the 2018 results, 19% of respondents believe local crime is a ‘serious’ or ‘very serious’ problem, a decrease of 4% from 2016.
The amount of people in 2018 – 73% - who perceive national crime as a ‘very serious’ or ‘serious’ problem has fallen from 77% in 2016.
The victimisation rate in 2018 stood at 6%. This figure has been steadily declining in quarterly sweeps since Q1 2016.
90% of respondents reported a medium to high level of trust in An Garda Síochána, according to the 2018 annual survey results.
Satisfaction with An Garda Síochána has increased nearly 10% since 2016 to 80% in 2018.
Satisfaction was high among 16 and 17-year-olds with the service provided by Gardaí to the local community – 86% were either ‘satisfied’ or ‘quite satisfied’.
The figure of respondents who said that Gardaí would treat you with respect if you had any contact with them for any reason stood at 93%.
75% agreed that Gardaí in their area can be relied on to be there when they are needed.
Regardless of gender, age, social class, nationality or experience of victimisation, respondents ranked sexual offences as the top priority for An Garda Síochána.
The vast majority of respondents, across all demographics, highlighted illegal weapons, human trafficking and robbery as their next priorities.
Commenting on the survey results, Deputy Commissioner Policing & Security, John Twomey, said: “These largely positive results reflect the great work done by Garda personnel every day to keep people safe. This can be most clearly seen in the reduction in victimisation and the fall in concerns about crime at national and local level.
“Trust in, and satisfaction with, An Garda Síochána is very high by international standards. This is as a result of the close connections we have with communities. It also very welcome to see how positive young people are towards An Garda Síochána. It is vital that we work hard to maintain this.
“We will continue to work with those communities and all our stakeholders to prevent and detect crimes, particularly against the vulnerable.”
Other key findings of An Garda Síochána’s Public Attitudes Survey for 2018
Victims of Crime
63% of victims were either ‘very satisfied’ or ‘quite satisfied’ with how Gardaí handled their case in 2018. This has increased from 58% in 2017 and 57% in 2016.
In the 2018 Public Attitudes Survey, there were 348 respondents who had been victimised in the preceding twelve months (out of 6000), representing a victimisation rate of 6 percent – no change from the 2017 survey. The victimisation rate has declined steadily (except for the noticeable peak in quarter two of 2018) from quarter one of 2016 to quarter four of 2018.
There was an 84 percent reporting rate to Gardaí.
Fear and Worry about Crime
In 2018, the majority of survey respondents reported having no fears about crime and the proportion that worry about becoming a victim has decreased slightly from 2017. A little over half of respondents (51%) worried about victimization (this includes worry about personal injury, property theft or damage, or both).
The proportion of respondents who ‘have a lot of fears’ about the level of crime in Ireland has decreased from 7% in 2016 to 3% in 2018. The proportion of respondents that have ‘some fears’ has risen from 27% in 2017 to 30% in 2018. There has been an increase in those respondents who have ‘very few fears’ from 29% in 2016, to 33% in 2018. The proportion of respondents who have no fears about crime in Ireland has decreased from 40% in 2017 to 34% in 2018.
Fear of crime does not have a notable impact on quality of life. The proportion of respondents who reported that it greatly impacts on quality of life has remained at 1 percent in the 2016, 2017 and 2018 survey sweeps. However, the proportion of respondents who consider that it has no effect on quality of life has decreased from 70 percent in 2017 to 64 percent in 2018. Victims of crime reported greater levels of impact on their quality of life by fear of crime than non-crime victims (47% vs. 36%).
Garda Visibility
In 2018, 38 percent of survey respondents reported being aware of Garda patrols in their local areas (the majority of these were aware of Gardaí patrolling in cars). 39% felt that Garda presence in their local areas was ‘about right’, with 61% considering it ‘not enough’.
The proportion of respondents who reported being unaware of Garda patrols has decreased each year since 2016 (56%, 55% and 53% respectively for the last three years).
There is an association between awareness of Garda patrols in local areas and perceptions of national and local crime. As respondents’ views of the national crime problem being serious decrease, awareness of Garda patrols increases. While this association was similar for local crime, the differences were not as pronounced.
Trust in An Garda Síochána
In 2018, 90% of respondents reported a medium to high level of trust in An Garda Síochána. This has remained very stable in recent survey sweeps – an important measure due to the importance of trust in the Garda organisation for effective policing.
Females were more likely to have greater trust in the organisation than males, as were older respondents and non-Irish nationals. ‘City’ respondents were less likely to have ‘high trust’ in the organisation than those from ‘other urban’ and rural areas. Respondents who had been victims of crime in the preceding 12 months to the survey interview had lower levels of ‘high trust’ in An Garda Síochána.
Equality of Treatment by An Garda Síochána
In 2018, 93% of respondents agreed that Gardaí would treat them with respect if they had contact with them for any reason. Similarly, 80% agreed that Gardaí would treat everyone fairly regardless of who they are (this figure was 65% when ‘don’t know’ responses were included).
86% of respondents who had been victims of crime in the 12 months preceding the survey interview, agreed that Gardaí would treat them with respect should they have contact with them for any reason.
Victimisation impacted on whether respondents agreed that Gardaí would treat everyone fairly regardless of who they are, with 66% of crime victims agreeing. In contrast, 81% of non-crime victims agreed with this statement.
The majority of respondents (75%) either ‘agreed’ or ‘strongly agreed’ that the Gardaí in their area can be relied on to be there when they are needed.
The majority (64%) disagreed that Garda-community relations were poor.
83% of respondents agreed that Gardaí listen to the concerns of local people.
Finally, 58% disagreed that Gardaí are not dealing with things that matter to the community.
Perceptions of the Garda Organisation
In 2018, the majority of respondents considered that the Gardaí are community-focused (72%), friendly and helpful (92%), effective in tackling crime (64%) and modern or progressive (68%). 48% agreed the organisation is well-managed, while 44% agreed that it provides a world-class service.
In general, respondents’ views of An Garda Síochána have been more positive over each of the last three survey sweeps. Those respondents who had been a victim of crime in the 12 months preceding the survey interview were less likely to be positive about the effectiveness and capability of An Garda Síochána than those who had not experienced victimisation.
Booster Sample (16 and 17-year-olds)
This is the second year in which the views of 16 and 17-year-olds were captured within the Public Attitudes Survey. The relationship between young people and An Garda Síochána is important and one which must be explored fully. Early interactions with the Gardaí and perceptions of the organisation are relevant as they inform lasting attitudes and behaviours.
Satisfaction was high among 16 and 17-year-olds with service provided by Gardaí to the local community – 86% were either ‘satisfied’ or ‘quite satisfied’. 88% had mid to high trust in the Gardaí and three quarters felt Gardaí would treat individuals in a respectful and fair manner. Perceptions of the effectiveness and capability of An Garda Síochána were also largely positive. Views on the friendliness or helpfulness of Gardaí were the most positive compared to the organisation being a world-class police service. This is in line with the main survey.
57% of 16 and 17-year-olds considered national crime to be either a ‘very serious’ or ‘serious’ problem (lower than the main sample). As with the adult sample, local crime was considered far less of a problem than national crime.
In 2018, the majority of 16 and 17-year-olds had not been a victim of crime in the preceding 12 month period. 5% of respondents had been victimised. Young people were far less worried about becoming a victim than the main sample of adults - the majority (73%) did not worry about victimisation. Similarly, the younger cohort had less fear of crime than the adult sample.
NOTE:
An Garda Síochána’s Public Attitudes Survey is a social survey of the Irish public’s attitudes towards crime and policing in Ireland. Relaunched in 2014 (it was discontinued in 2008) the survey consists of 6000 face-to-face interviews with adults aged 18 years and over in a given year. A booster sample, which was introduced in 2017, surveys the attitudes of 16 and 17-year-olds. In addition to the annual report, An Garda Síochána publishes quarterly bulletins. All previous publications are available on www.garda.ie.
