Police Scotland has continued to meet the needs of our communities during a demanding and difficult... More
Closes 31 March 2023
The Chief Constable is responsible for the delivery of policing in Scotland. Section 47 of the... More
Closes 12 February 2023
Here are some of the issues we have consulted on and their outcomes. See all outcomes
In April 2021, Police Scotland refreshed its local policing survey to gather views from Scotland’s diverse communities. Your Police 2021/2022 remained open throughout the year and helped us understand public opinion about local policing, as well as provide an opportunity for the public to tell us about any concerns regarding their area that are affecting their safety or wellbeing. Feedback via the survey has helped us ensure that our policing services in your community are the best they can be.
If you didn’t take part in Your Police last year, you can take part in our new Your Police 2022/23! Don’t miss out on your chance to have your say.
In total, we received 20,024 responses over 12 months, including over 50,000 free-text responses. There were 6,341 responses received in March 2022 alone – highlighting the continued dedication of local policing divisions in listening to the communities they serve.
The average public confidence level for the period April 2021 – March 2022 was 39%. This includes people who either ‘agree’ or ‘strongly agree’ that they have confidence in local police. Confidence levels among organisations who responded to Your Police (104 organisations) averaged 40%.
We learned that things which affect public confidence include police visibility and accessibility, community engagement and the values and behaviours of our officers and staff. We also know that events taking place in local areas that attracted a large police presence had an impact on public confidence. Public confidence exists across all of our 13 local policing divisions.
Policing in your local area
A majority of people feel safe in their local areas – an average of 82% said they felt safe and this has remained the high over the past year. However, we know that there are people who feel less safe for a variety of reasons and the Service is now working to take action based on your feedback.
A large number of respondents said they ‘don’t know’ when asked about these measures. We are now working with our Public Confidence Governance Board to enhance and expand our engagement within Scotland’s diverse communities. This board is chaired by Assistant Chief Constable Emma Bond.
Concern about crime
42% said their concern about crime had remained the same while 54% said their concern had increased. 3% said it had decreased. We know that people with disabilities and those who live in areas most affected by poverty have more concern about crime.
Generally, people’s concerns have included: antisocial behaviour (including at local beauty spots and public parks/greenspace), speeding and dangerous driving, house break-ins, drug taking and dealing and wider vulnerability concerns about relatives and neighbours. Greater engagement being required with children and young people, including those who support them - such as youth workers, teachers, and sports clubs - was also highlighted.
On what matters most to the public (from open-ended responses), constant themes included: visibility and accessibility of police (a local presence), communicating and engaging with the public, and understanding the needs of diverse communities.
Your Police continues to be the largest of its kind in the UK and involves the public in a conversation about policing and their local community. Responses have been reviewed regularly by senior police officers and have helped us act quickly in relation to emerging issues; helping shape our approaches to operational policing across Scotland.
We have compared our data with other national public surveys to ensure that Your Police continues to provide robust insights which support effective and high quality policing in communities throughout Scotland.
Five things we have done with your feedback
Your feedback also shaped the Annual Police Plan 2022-23.
Thank you
We are grateful to all who participated in Your Police during 2021/22. Our Research and Insight team continue to review every response in detail and provide detailed reporting to senior management and the Scottish Police Authority (which is the organisation that helps ensure an effective and high-quality service).
The survey has been launched again for 2022/23; so make sure you fill it in! Responses to Your Police will continue to feed into decision-making structures within Police Scotland on a regular basis. Our Public Confidence Governance Board will build on the actions taken from the survey and continue to shape our approaches to improving public contact and engagement.
We are enhancing our local and national approaches to community engagement, and involving more people in more decisions about their police service in new ways. We will keep our Citizen Space platform and public information channels up to date regularly.
Further information: Any clarifications or questions about this update can be made by contacting the Research and Insight team:
In April 2021, Police Scotland refreshed its local policing survey to gather views from Scotland’s diverse communities. The British Sign Language (BSL) version of Your Police 2021/2022 remained open throughout the year (it closed on 31 March 2022) and helped us understand people’s opinions of policing in their local area, as well as tell us about any concerns regarding their area which was affecting their safety or wellbeing.
Your feedback via the survey has helped us ensure that our policing services in your community were high quality by supporting the communities we serve.
If you didn’t take part in Your Police last year, you can take part in our new BSL Your Police 2022/23! Don’t miss out on your chance to have your say and let us know how we’re doing in your community.
In total, we received 398 responses over 12 months, including nearly 1000 free-text responses. There were 174 responses received in February 2022 alone– highlighting the continued dedication of local policing divisions in listening to the communities they serve.
The average public confidence level for the period April 2021 – March 2022 was 41%. This includes people who either ‘agree’ or ‘strongly agree’ that they have confidence in local police. This confidence figure includes responses from the 4 organisations who responded to BSL Your Police such as Women’s Aid and the COP 26 Youth Project.
We learned that things which effect public confidence include police visibility and accessibility, community engagement and the values and behaviours of our officers and staff. We also know that events taking place in local areas that attracted a large police presence had an impact on public confidence. Public confidence exists across all of our 13 local policing divisions.
Policing in your local area
The majority of the people who responded to BSL Your Police told us that they feel safe in their local areas – an average of 77% of people said they felt safe and this has remained the high over the past year. However, we know that there are people who feel less safe for a variety of reasons and the Service is now working to take action based on your feedback.
A large number of respondents said they ‘don’t know’ when asked about these measures. We are now working with our Public Confidence Governance Board to enhance and expand our engagement within Scotland’s diverse communities. This board is chaired by Assistant Chief Constable Emma Bond.
Concern about crime
38% of people told us their concern about crime had remained the same while 58% said their concern had increased. 4% said it had decreased. We know that people with disabilities and those who live in areas most affected by poverty have more concern about crime.
Generally, people’s concerns have included: antisocial behaviour (including at local beauty spots and public parks/greenspace), speeding and dangerous driving, house break-ins, drug taking and dealing and wider vulnerability concerns about relatives and neighbours. Greater engagement being required with children and young people, including those who support them - such as youth workers, teachers, and sports clubs - was also highlighted.
On what matters most to the public (from open-ended responses), constant themes included: visibility (a local presence), communicating and engaging with the public, and understanding the needs of diverse communities.
Your Police continues to be the largest of its kind in the UK to involve the public in a conversation about policing and their local community. Responses have been reviewed regularly by senior police officers and have helped us act quickly in relation to emerging issues; helping shape our approaches to operational policing across Scotland.
We have compared our data with other national public surveys to ensure that Your Police continues to provide robust insights to support effective and high quality policing in communities throughout Scotland.
Five things we have done with your feedback
Your feedback also shaped the Annual Police Plan 2022-23.
Thank you
We are grateful to all who participated in our BSL version of Your Police during 2021/22. Our Research and Insight team continue to review every response in detail and provide detailed reporting to senior management and the Scottish Police Authority (which is the body that helps ensure an effective and high-quality service).
The survey has been launched again for 2022/23; make sure you fill it in! Responses to Your Police will continue to feed into decision-making structures within Police Scotland on a regular basis. Police Scotland’s ‘Public Confidence Governance Board’ will build on the actions taken from the survey and continue to shape our approaches to improving public contact and engagement.
We are enhancing our local and national approaches to community engagement, and involving more people in more decisions about their police service in new ways. Keep an eye on our Citizen Space platform and public information channels for more information in the coming months.
Further information: Any clarifications or questions about this update can be made by contacting the Research and Insight Team:
Between June and September 2021, Police Scotland launched the second phase of their “Use of Body Worn Video” public engagement. This survey was intended to help shape Body Worn Video use by our police officers, operational staff and special constables when interacting with the public.
The purpose of the survey was to understand public views relating to the use of Body Worn Video, including any impact this might have for the public and police officers. It also aimed to help us understand any reservations the public might have relating to Body Worn Video and how we might introduce this alongside our broader Contact and Engagement Strategy, ensuring that we build both trust and confidence in Police Scotland.
We also conducted a number of focus groups with a range of relevant organisations and individuals, including women’s support organisations, asylum seekers, refugees and young people. This ensured they were involved in decision making process.
All of this was done with the aim of enabling an effective approach which puts human rights and the views and needs of individuals and communities at the heart of what we do.
Our survey received 9,310 responses from individuals and organisations.
Responses highlighted clear support for Body Worn Video:
Focus groups highlighted general support for Body Worn Video, with participants discussing benefits of its use (for example, deterring crime). The need for clear guidelines was also emphasised by focus group participants, in addition to the need for transparency in Body Worn Video and footage use, so that the public can hold Police Scotland to account. The safety of victims, survivors of serious offences and witnesses of crime was also emphasised, suggesting situations where the use of Body Worn Video may not be appropriate. This shows that there needs to be balanced protocols which set out the control officers, staff and special constables have when using Body Worn Video devices.
Your views have informed the decision making process, including helping to shape the development of our Code of Practice, as we move forward to the next steps. If funding is available in the future, the ability to issue Body Worn Video to police officers, operational police staff and special constables across Scotland, in a way that has been informed by meaningful public engagement, is something we're very proud of - thank you for taking part.
Closed 16 October 2022
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Closed 27 July 2022
Closed 27 July 2022