Public confidence in the Complaints System
IPCC Public Confidence Survey 2004 (pdf 681k)
IPCC Public Confidence Survey 2007 (pdf 258 k)
In order to measure trends in public confidence concerning the complaints system we survey a representative samples of the general population. The survey asks about:
- contact with the police
- willingness to complain
- barriers against complaining
- ways in which members of the public may wish to complain
- awareness of the IPCC.
Our surveys usually question approximately 4,000 people - a nationally representative sample of adults in England and Wales, plus an ethnic minority booster sample of 1,200 people.
The surveys have found that there is a general high willingness to complain and high levels of awareness of IPCC. However, certain key groups have been identified as being less willing to complain, more sceptical of the complaints system or more disinclined to use it. This includes those with recent negative contact with the police, ethnic minorities, people from lower socio-economic groups and young people.
Surveys conducted in 2004 and 2007 can be found above. We plan to repeat the Surveys each year from 2007 onwards.
We commissioned MORI to do some in-depth follow-up work with these groups to establish why they felt this way and what, if anything, can be done to improve things. In addition to the groups identified by the survey, the MORI work also included groups who have traditionally had lower levels of trust and confidence in the police but were not able to be included in the survey, such as gay and lesbian people, gypsy/traveller groups and people for whom English was not their first language.
The study found that perceptions of the police heavily influenced perceptions of the complaints procedure in general, and the likelihood of making a complaint in particular. The groups that tended to have more frequent and adversarial contact with the police tended to have the lowest levels of trust, and as such were the least willing to complain about inappropriate behaviour. Conversely those that had the least amount of contact had much higher expectations of police behaviour and were therefore more willing to complain about a range of potential misconduct. This research has helped the IPCC to shape its communication strategies and identify where efforts should be focused to improve confidence in, and awareness of the complaints system.
Public Perceptions of the Police Complaints System (pdf 680k)
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