Crime victims less satisfied with An Garda Síochána but trust remains high, survey finds

People who fall victim to crime in Ireland have become less satisfied with how An Garda Síochána deals with their cases, according to a public attitudes survey conducted for the force.

The study, which assessed how the Garda’s performance is being perceived in the communities it serves, found that public confidence around the reliability of gardaí “to be there when needed” also slipped last year. An Garda Síochána said some 7,650 face-to-face interviews with adults aged 18 and over were conducted for the survey.

While some of the recent trends will be a cause for concern, trust levels in the force remain very high. Fear of crime has also remained stable despite several years of discourse around street crime, particularly in Dublin, having become a bigger issue.

Commissioner’s reaction

In 2019, before the pandemic, some 71 per cent of crime victims described themselves as “very or quite satisfied” with the Garda’s response to their case. This fell to 53 per cent last year. There was a corresponding increase in the number of crime victims who described themselves as being “quite or very dissatisfied” with the Garda’s response, rising to 47 per cent last year from 39 per cent in 2019.

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Garda Commissioner Drew Harris said the results showed “most victims” are satisfied with the Garda’s response to crime but that “we must continue in our efforts to improve our service to victims, particularly in keeping them fully informed on how their case is progressing”.

“We are taking steps to improve this,” he added.

Mr Harris said the force had “one of the highest levels of public trust in a police service in the world, which is underscored by this survey” and that trust was an “essential component of modern policing”.

Some 68 per cent of respondents believed the Garda was “well managed”, almost 20 per cent higher than in 2018. Some 90 per cent of people “trust An Garda Síochána” and 86 per cent agreed they would be “treated with respect” by gardaí. Some 45 per cent of people said they believe local crime is “not a problem”, up by 13 per cent on the survey findings in 2019.

Visibility policing

When people were asked about Garda visibility — how aware they were of patrols in their area — some 43 per cent said they were aware of those patrols. However, while that was an increase on 2018 and 2019, it was 6 per cent lower than 2021. The decrease comes amid a debate about the need for higher visibility policing, especially in Dublin.

While a significant amount of public discourse, especially in recent months and in the pandemic years, has centred on violence, disorder and drug dealing on the streets, other issues are the highest concern for the public.

Respondents said efforts to stop sexual offences, domestic abuse and human trafficking should be ranked as the highest priorities for the Garda. Some 91 per cent ranked sexual offence as the crime type that should be of “high priority” for the Garda, followed by domestic abuse (89 per cent) and human trafficking (86 per cent).

Assaults were next, though public order was ranked the second lowest priority (57 per cent). Despite significant public debate around deaths on the roads, road safety was ranked as “high priority” by 65 per cent of respondents, the third lowest score. Only 42 per cent of respondents regarded “traffic offences” as a high priority, which was by far the lowest score.