20% worry about crime in their area and 50% worry about becoming victim of crime
Almost one in five people consider crime to be a serious problem in their local area.
A new survey carried out on behalf of the Gardai has also found that just over half the population worries about becoming a victim.
Amarach Research spoke to 1,500 people between October and December last year about a range of issues relating to An Garda Síochána.
They discovered that despite the recent scandals in the force 88% of the public still trusts it.
Deputy Commissioner, Policing and Security, John Twomey said there are many positives from the latest survey.
"It is very welcome that there is less fear of crime and less people saying they have been victims of crime. This shows the benefit of An Garda Síochána having a strong focus on protecting and supporting communities.
"However, the reduction in victim satisfaction is very concerning. We are addressing this at all levels as it is vital that victims get the service they need and deserve from us.
"This includes ensuring victims are a strong focus of each and every divisional policing plan, re-emphasising to investigating members the need to keep each victim informed of the progress in relation to their complaint, and an Assistant Commissioner will be looking at how we can improve victim satisfaction through our dedicated Victim Service Offices.”
- In Q4 2017, the victimisation rate was 6.2%. This compares with a rate of 6.6% for the same quarter last year.
- Satisfaction among victims of crime who reported their crime to An Garda Síochána fell 7% between Q4 2016 (62%) and Q4 2017 (55%).
- During Q4 2017, 88% of victims interviewed said they had reported their most recent crime incident. This is 2% lower than in Q3 2017, but 8% higher compared to Q3 2017.
- 48% of victims felt the right amount of information had been provided to them. This is down 11% from Q4 2016.
- In Q4 2017, 72% of people perceived national crime to be either a very serious or serious problem. This is down 5% from the same period in 2016.
- In Q4 2017, 19% of respondents considered crime in their local area to be a very serious or serious problem. This remained relatively stable (ie between 18% and 20%) during 2017.
- During Q4 2017 nearly half (48%) of respondents said they did not worry about becoming a victim of crime – this is a 1% increase from Q4 2016.
- 68% of people reported that their fear of crime had no impact on their quality of life – this is a 5% increase from Q4 2016.
- In Q4 2017, 36% of respondents were aware of Garda patrols in their local area – this is the same as in Q4 2016.
- In Q4 2017, 44% of respondents considered Garda presence in their local area to be at about the right level. This is an increase of 4% from Q4 2016.
- 92% of respondents in the Q4 2017 survey said they felt members of An Garda Síochána would treat them with respect if they had contact with them for any reason. Since Q1 2017, the proportion of respondents agreeing with this statement has totalled 90% or above.
- When asked if Gardaí in their area treat everyone fairly regardless of who they are, 82% of people agreed. This has remained above 80% since the question was added to the survey in Q1 2017.
- In Q4 2017, 70% of respondents said they were either very satisfied or satisfied with the service provided by An Garda Síochána to local communities. This is down 1% from Q4 2016.
- In Q4 2017, 88% of respondents stated they had a mid to high level of trust in An Garda Síochána. Over the last four quarters, trust has remained largely stable between 88% and 92%.
- In Q4 2017, 87% of respondents agreed that members of An Garda Síochána were friendly or helpful (up 1% from Q4 2016), 65% agreed that the organisation was community focused (down 1%), 57% thought the organisation was modern or progressive (down 4%), 55% said it was effective in tackling crime (up 2%), 38% said it was well managed (down 7%), and 35% thought An Garda Síochána provides a world-class police service (down 5%).
