Police services across Britain are failing to meet the public's minimum standards of service delivery, according to a new report from researchers at UCL and the ESRC Vulnerability & Policing Futures Research Centre, which measures this sentiment for the first time.
For the report, the research team sought the views of members of the public across Britain to establish the minimum standards of service that the public should be able to expect from the police.
The survey was informed by focus groups in which participants worked collaboratively to define what is meant by local policing and the expectations people have around it.
Most people who participated in the research said they do not think that the police are a visible or engaged presence in their communities.
This comes amidst the backdrop of well-publicised crises, as well as a lack of public confidence in policing, which according to some estimates is at its lowest point for 15 years.
Professor Ben Bradford, lead author of the report from UCL Security & Crime Science, said: "The results of the survey show that public confidence in policing is currently tenuous, at best. This lack of confidence is strongly linked to a sense that police often fail to achieve what people expect of them.
"While recent high-profile events have clearly damaged trust and confidence, at least as important is the everyday policing that people experience in their communities. Many feel police are not present and engaged, do not provide an adequate response to calls for assistance, and are failing to build appropriate relationships with all parts of the community."
