Policing the thin blue line
TWO recent surveys throw the spotlight on the public’s experiences of crime and their attitudes to those charged with protecting them.
One of the surveys is the first of its type. The Traveller/Ethnic Minority Communities’ Attitudes to the Garda Síochána 2007 survey gives us detailed research on how these groups view the force.
This research was commissioned by the gardaí as part of commitments under the Garda Policing Plan 2006.
The second survey, the Garda Public Attitudes Survey 2007, is the sixth annual survey of the general population and provides the same key information and allows for comparison.
The two surveys are similar in format and the ethnic survey used the same questionnaire as the public attitudes survey.
The Garda Public Attitudes survey was based on a sample of 10,000 people, comprising 400 people in each of the 25 Garda divisions. It was carried out between March and June 2007.
It found overall satisfaction with gardaí stood at 81%, a rise on 79% in 2006. However, this compared with rates of 83% in 2005 and 85% in 2004.
The table shows the extent to which satisfaction rates vary across Garda divisions, the lowest being Waterford/Kilkenny, at 68%, and the highest Sligo/Leitrim at 89%.
“Compared with 2006, satisfaction rates increased in 15 divisions and declined in 10. Satisfaction was lowest among those in local authority compared with other housing tenure categories,” said the authors of the survey report, Sergeant Patrick Kennedy and Garda Colm Browne and the Garda Research Unit.
The biggest improvements were in the Wexford/Wicklow and Donegal divisions, while the sharpest falls in satisfaction were in the Laois/Offaly and Dublin Metropolitan West divisions.
The survey showed 9.8% of households said they were a victim of crime in the preceding year. Rates differed between divisions. Mayo had the lowest at 2.7%, while Dublin Metropolitan Region South Central had the highest at 22%.
Dublin regions accounted for five of the seven divisions with the highest crime victimisation rates, with Limerick and Louth/Meath accounting for the other two places.
The most prevalent crimes were domestic burglary, criminal damage, physical assault and car theft.
Almost nine out of 10 reported the crime to gardaí, a similar rate to 2006. However, only 45% expressed satisfaction with being kept informed of progress by gardaí. Again divisional rates varied, between 10% and 68%.
A total of 4% said they requested an emergency Garda response in 2006 and seven out of 10 expressed satisfaction with the service received.
Three quarters of people felt the Garda service could be improved, suggesting more gardaí, more foot patrols, more contact with the community and longer station opening hours.
Nine out of 10 described gardaí at their local station as approachable, while 8% said they had experienced “unacceptable behaviour” from a garda, the most frequent being “disrespectful or impolite”.
Respondents said their main policing priorities were, in order: targeting organised crime, investigation of crime, dealing with crimes of sexual violence and enforcing drink driving laws. The report said for the most part, the public’s rankings had been “very consistent” in recent years.
The survey found cities outside Dublin (Cork, Galway, Limerick and Waterford) had the worst records among respondents who reported feeling unsafe walking in their neighbourhood after dark.
Overall, three quarters of people felt safe doing so — up 4% on 2006.
Nearly four out of 10 were worried of becoming a victim of crime.
“Considerably more respondents thought crime and offending behaviour were major problems in the country as a whole than thought they were major problems in their own area,” said the report.
The survey found while there was strong support for treatment, rather than punishment, for juveniles and drug abusers, the majority felt the criminal justice system was “too lenient” on offenders.
The Traveller/Ethnic Survey was based on a sample of 600 people and was conducted between December 2006 and May 2007.
It found overall satisfaction with the gardaí was 79%, just less than that of the general population. This included high rates among migrants (91%) and refugees (92%), but much lower rates among Travellers (52%).
Crime victimisation rates were almost double that of the general population, at 18.3%. While some of the crimes were similar to the general population, certain crimes were more prevalent, including domestic violence and intimidation.
More than eight out of 10 reported the crime to gardaí, similar to the general population. Just 35% expressed satisfaction with being kept informed of progress by gardaí, significantly lower than the general population.
Almost four times as many requested an emergency Garda response than the general population (15%, compared with 4%), with 58% satisfied with the response they got (compared with 70%).
Nearly eight out of 10 said the Garda service could be improved, suggesting gardaí could be more respectful and friendly as the two main recommendations (not among the main suggestions by the general population).
Three quarters said their local gardaí were approachable, lower than the general population. The figure among Travellers was just 51%.
One in five respondents reported unacceptable behaviour from a garda (compared with 8% among the general population), citing disrespect or impoliteness as the main cause of complaint.
A third said they had experienced a racist incident, including 44% of Travellers and 51% of black people. Only 13% reported the incident to gardaí. Those who did not cited three main reasons: they believed gardaí could not have done anything, the incident was not serious enough, they believed gardaí would not have been interested.
Eight out of 10 said gardaí were doing a good job in their area, similar to the general population.
Almost twice as many (7%, compared with 4%) had been involved in a road traffic collision.
Ethnic minorities cited similar policing priorities as the general population. However, there was a significant difference among Travellers, who put investigating sex crimes as the number one priority (fifth among the general population) and investigated domestic violence as third priority (tenth in the general population).
Eight out of ten migrants and refugees said they had a positive experience with gardaí at their port of entry into Ireland.
However, four out of 10 respondents said gardaí were not sensitive to their cultural or religious traditions.
Nearly four out of 10 said they did not feel safe walking in their neighbourhood at night (25% in the general population).
Again the cities outside Dublin reported the worst record. The highest rates were among Travellers and black people.
Much higher rates of ethnic people feared for their personal safety compared with the general population.
Some 44% were very worried of being mugged or robbed (31% of general population), 43% very worried of being raped or sexually assaulted (17%) and 60% very worried of being physically attacked by a stranger (29%).
In addition, 50% were very worried of being insulted or pestered by someone on the street and 52% were very worried about being physically attacked because of their race/skin colour or religion.
A total of 35% said their fear of crime reduced the quality of their life, compared with 15% of the general population.
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
