Active Communities
Public Perceptions of Police Accountability and Decision Making
This document is published for archival/historical purposes. It will not be updated.
Police authorities working within everyday community involvement provide a vital public feedback into police service delivery. This study, carried out by the Research Development Statistics (RDS) and Association of Police Authorities (APA), examines the policing authority interaction with the public, and suggests ways in which police authorities could enhance their community role.
Title: Public Perceptions of Police Accountability and Decision Making
Author: Research Development Statistics
Series: Research Development Statistics Report 38/03
Number of Pages: 35
Date Published: November 2003
In England and Wales there are 43 police authorities, one for each force area. This report concentrates, using focus group study, upon a set of 4 principles which strengthen police force accountability, with the specific aim to examine public awareness regarding:
the need to protect the police political independence
public accountability in policing
transparency regarding responsibility for tackling crime
improvement of public understanding in policing and its effectiveness.
Findings: perceptions of policing and crime
For this study, 14 focus groups of 5 - 8 people were used. Each group comprised a mix of ages, ethnic groups, genders etc. One group consisted of participants for who English was not the first language. Amongst the focus group participants, 2 key issues within each force were:
police visibility (not enough patrolling)
accessibility (inaccessible police stations)
Overall group perceptions included:
inappropriate police priorities
response times being too slow
a police officer's individual attitude and communication skills being the key to whether the public considered them to be doing a good job.
police being restrained due to high crime levels, making it difficult for them to appear effective.
minority ethnic groups feeling police discriminated against them.
crime levels believed high, with many participants not feeling safe.
a strong view that the community has a role to play in crime prevention.
Findings: Information about policing
The focus groups suggested that the public:
were poorly informed about policing, by only identifying policing with prevention and dealing with crime
wanted more communication, information and involvement.
were without basic services and language information for non-English-speaking group
should be given practical information, such as their rights when being stopped and searched.
Findings: Public participation in decision-making, police accountability and police authorities
There was a general consensus in the focus groups that the public:
hadn't participated in decisions about policing, and opportunity to state their opinions should be given.
didn't have a high awareness of police-public consultation
hadn't previously heard of police authorities, with the name 'police authority' not signaling an identity separate from 'the police'.
hadn't learned enough about the role of police authorities, as when informed they were seen as necessary and useful. However, many people were sceptical of effectiveness, due to a low public profile.
Conclusions
In summary, the report found police authorities, forces and other organisations needed to improve information provision to the public about policing and crime, in accordance to needs of local communities. Police authorities should seek to:
improve public engagement
market themselves better
use more innovative methods appropriate for local communities.
More thorough research and revision of the policing structure is needed to develop the role of authorities in community engagement.
Download: Public Perceptions of Police Accountability and Decision-Making 
PDF 212kb
Last update: Tuesday, August 26, 2008