Public Verdict Foundation and the Levada Analytical Centre have conducted the first sociological survey - the Police Trust Index - since the renaming of the militia. The survey reflects the dynamics of popular sentiment and measures the extent to which citizens trust the police.
The results of the study conducted in March 2011 show that the reforms have somewhat raised citizens’ positive expectations of law enforcement officers. However, the newly-renamed police need to make effective use of this perceived “advance credit of trust” in order to avoid serious disappointment on the part of society.
According to data from the
Levada Analytical Centre, 35% of citizens profess to trust the police. Around a third of those surveyed (34%) were satisfied with the service provided by law enforcement agencies, whereas a majority (56%) claimed to be dissatisfied with how the police work. Moreover, the public view the ability of the police to protect them and their loved ones from criminals with considerable pessimism. Over half (58%) of those surveyed do not regard the police as capable of protecting their lives and possessions.
It is worth noting that, in comparison to previous results of surveys by Public Verdict Foundation, the police have seen a rise of 3% in terms of trust levels (14% compared to 11% in November 2010) whereas the figures for citizens outraged or dismayed by the police service has fallen by 4% (12% compared to 16% in November 2010). At the same time, the Police Trust Index’s generalized indicators for attitudes to the police and trust in them, which constitute the main element of the evaluation, stand at 13 and 6 respectively. The Police Trust Index as a whole is calculated as a numerical average of a series of single indices, with its components varying between +100 to -100, where a figure of more than ‘0’ indicates the predominance in society of ‘positive’ attitudes towards the police, and a figure of less than ‘0’ indicates the predominance of ‘negative’ attitudes.
The Police Trust Index assessment is conducted by
Public Verdict Foundation on a regular basis using a sample of 1600 people from all over Russia. To view the full survey statistics or to find out more about how the Police Trust Index is calculated
click here.
