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Policing and the Public: Findings from the 2000 British Crime Survey

Home Office Research Findings No 136 by Lorraine Sims and Andy Myhill

The BCS 2000 asked people about their contacts with the police, and what their views were on the performance of the police overall. Victims of crimes were also questioned as to what they thought about the service they had received from the police, including evaluating their response time, levels of interest and effort, and how well the police had kept them informed.

Victims were less satisfied with the response of the police than in the 1998 BCS, however overall satisfaction among victims of burglary, vehicle crime and muggings increased. The victims of burglary and violent offences questioned said they felt that they were kept well-informed. These results were better than those in 1998.

The majority of the public felt that police in their area did a good job, although this depended on attitudes across social groups. Those living in rural areas, those earning over £30,000 and those living in the East, the South and London held particularly favourable views.  Levels of confidence in the police were lowest among those living in social rented accommodation, women aged between 16 and 29 and Asian and black people.

Between the 1982 BCS and the 1992 BCS , the percentage of respondents who said their local police did a very or fairly good job fell. Between the 1992 and 1998 surveys, the levels remained stable, although significantly decreasing since the 1998 survey.

The 2000 BCS included an assessment of the various parts of the Criminal Justice System, including the police, judges, magistrates, prisons, probation service and juvenile courts. The police were rated highly, with attitudes towards them influenced by personal experience.  Those who had contact with their local police were less likely to say they did a good job than those who had no contact.

The BCS can also be used to look at satisfaction with particular aspects of police performance, with levels appearing to be directly influenced by the outcomes of police investigations.  Satisfaction levels also increased if the police recovered all or some of a victim's property.

Key Points

• People who had contact with the police during the last year, were less likely to say that their local police did a good job than those that had no contact.

• Levels of confidence in the police remained virtually unchanged throughout the 1990s, but have decreased slightly since the 1998 BCS.

• Victims of crimes reported to the police were asked how satisfied they were with the police response.  Victims were satisfied in 57% of incidents in the 2000 BCS, but levels of satisfaction have been falling since the 1994 BCS when 67% of victims were satisfied.

• Around a quarter of respondents had been contacted by the police and 35% had contacted the police directly.

• Minority ethnic groups have lower levels of confidence in their local police. 71% of Asian respondents and 74% of black respondents said their local police did a very or fairly good job. The overall average for all respondents to the 2000 BCS was 78%.

• The proportion of respondents stopped by the police while in a car, on a motorcycle or on foot, has remained relatively constant throughout the 1990's. Black and Asian males aged 16 to 29 were particularly likely to be stopped whether on foot or in a vehicle.

• Of those interviewed, a fifth could remember being really annoyed by a police officer's behaviour during the previous five years. Of these, a fifth made a formal complaint.

A Home Office Research Study on minority ethnic experiences of crime and attitudes to and contacts with the police is planned for 2001, which will include additional analysis by ethnic groups of the data presented in this report.

Getting a copy

A full copy of the Policing and the Public: Findings from the 2000 British Crime Survey PDF (36 Kb) is available from the Home Office website.

Last update: Wednesday, August 27, 2008