New Poll on Police Commissioners

The Public View of the PCC Reform

New Poll on Police Commissioners

Summary

A new survey into public attitudes to Police & Crime Commissioners (PCCs) was unveiled at a major conference jointly hosted by Policy Exchange and Deloitte (see here - video footage to follow) on 19 June 2012. The poll, conducted in June 2012 by YouGov (download here), explored what the public thought about the introduction of PCCs and their priorities for the new elected role.  The poll found that a clear majority (59%) thought former police officers would make the best PCCs, with less than 1 in 10 saying that a politician would be best for the role.  The survey found that 1 in 8 people had been a victim of crime in the past year, and 1 in 3 had had some form of contact with the police.  The biggest crime concerns were burglary and anti-social behavior offences like vandalism and public drunkenness. The public wanted PCCs to prioritise visible, neighbourhood policing that addressed anti-social behaviour, but despite budget cuts to the police, a clear majority were not prepared to pay more in council tax to increase spending on local policing.

Poll tables from YouGov can be found here.

Presentation

Public Views on Police and Crime Commissioners