March 04, 2010
Local People Voice Confidence in Bedfordshire Police
A recent survey has shown that over 80% of local respondents have confidence generally in Bedfordshire Police.
Just over a year ago, the Government set a single target for all police forces – to increase the public’s confidence that the police and local councils are dealing with anti-social behaviour and crime issues that matter locally.
This was also measured in this survey and 68.9% of respondents thought the police and councils are dealing with the local issues that matter most.
In addition to the increasing levels of confidence, the survey showed:
- Over a third of people are aware of the Policing Pledge, which was only launched a year ago. This is a good start and the Force is committed to increasing awareness of the Pledge as this will help further improve public confidence
- 77% of people think the local police do a pretty good job
- 70% are confident the police understand the issues that affect local communities
- 70% think crime and anti-social behaviour is not much of a problem locally
- 76% agree the police treat everyone with equal respect
- 90.8% consider the police to be professional
The survey was commissioned by Bedfordshire Police Authority and Bedfordshire Police to provide a better understanding of what local people thought about the policing services they receive and their confidence in the local force. Over 1800 people were questioned by an independent research company.
Gillian Parker, Chief Constable of Bedfordshire Police said, “I am delighted with the results of this survey. This shows the hard work to improve our performance and the service we give to our communities has had a really positive impact. We will continue to strive to further increase public confidence in Bedfordshire Police.”
Peter Conniff, Chairman of Bedfordshire Police Authority added, “The results show that standards have improved across the board as a result of increased investment and a lot of hard work
“The survey also highlights areas of further work for Bedfordshire Police, such as the need to keep people better informed about what the police are doing in their local community and how people can interact with local police teams. We will be working with the Force to see how this can be improved and carefully monitoring the progress made.”
