Would you put yourself in the firing line? Why wouldn't 82% of us ever consider a role in the police force?
Following well-publicised incidents in the UK, there has been much debate about the role and effectiveness of the police force. At Yolo Communications we decided to survey opinions* of the British public, revealing that support is still strong although there are contrasting views across ages and ethnic groups. Today's police force get more respect from the young while the older generation wants to see more bobbies on the beat.
- 18-24-year-olds have most respect for the police force (53%) while those in the North East have least (30%)
- One fifth of those aged 55+ (21%) may have lost a lot of respect for the police force from when they were younger but three-quarters still trust them
- One-third of people are now more supportive of the police force in light of the recent acts of terrorism
- Two thirds of people think the police should be allowed to chase suspects on mopeds without fear of the officers being prosecuted
It may well be seen as disappointing that only 47% of people stated they have full respect for the police force, with the younger generation (aged 18-24) more supportive (53% agree) as opposed to only 44% of those aged 55+.
Two-fifths of respondents think the police force are understaffed (42%) and (38%) would like to see more police on the beat. There was great regional disparity as those people living in Yorkshire (59%), Scotland (55%) and the North West (51%) were more keen on adding bobbies on the beat than those in the Midlands (23%), South East (28%) and London (29%). This visual presence would be most welcomed by people as they get older as it is only supported by 12% of those aged 18-24 against 55% of those aged 55+ but in direct contrast that younger age group are twice as likely as their more mature counterparts to think the methods of the police force are outdated (14% v 7%).
The terrible recent acts of terrorism have led to an increase (37%) of people being more supportive towards the police force with only 5% less so.
With an alleged increase in moped-related crimes hitting the headlines, it has been reported that the police cannot chase suspects because it may endanger those suspects. It seems the public are clearly backing the police on this issue as almost two-thirds of people think the police should be allowed to chase them without fear of the officers being prosecuted. While a quarter (26%) think those suspects should not be chased if it can cause harm to (innocent) members of the public, only 7% think the police should not chase suspects if it could cause those suspects to be injured.
On the contentious issues of targeting by ethnicity and stop-and-search rule, there is a clear difference of opinion with people from different ethnic backgrounds. When asked if they believe the police target ethnic minorities, one fifth (20%) of those with white backgrounds thought this to be the case in comparison to almost two thirds (63%) of those from other ethnic groups. Three in five people (59%) from ethnic backgrounds think the police treat ethnic minorities unfairly, however, only 26% do not agree that the police should be allowed to stop and search any members of the public against 21% of people from white backgrounds who also disagree.
While it may be easy to have opinions from the comfort and safety of your own home, 42% of people still said they admire what the police do and admit they couldn’t do it themselves. The younger age group (18-24 years old) would be least likely to consider a role in the police force as they are most likely to admit they are not brave enough (21%) compared to 10% of those aged 45-54 years old.
It’s easy to be critical but not many of us would be willing to consider a role in the police force, putting ourselves on the line for others. There are clearly some public relations issues that the police force need to address but following recent events, it's good to see the public appreciation increasing.
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*Research was carried out online by Yolo Communications, 25-29.08.17. The sample comprised 1,042 UK adults