Prestcom Analysis On Uk Police Force

Essay by EssaySwap ContributorUniversity, Bachelor's February 2008

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Introduction 1. The current image of the police force is the feeling of Britain being an unsafe place to live. A recent MORI poll discovered that 54% of the general public expect Britain to be a less safe place in the next 5-10 years. This figure is compared to the 16% of those who believe that it will improve.

2. There is a common feeling that the police should work more closely with the community, indeed this was reflected by the fact that 36% of the people surveyed felt that there should be closer ties with their neighbourhood watch scheme and the police force, in order to prevent crime.

3. Opinion on what the police should tackle was strong, but the overriding themes were child abuse, receiving 65% of the votes and, drug misuse, receiving 51% of the votes.

4. In another survey that looked at public attitudes towards the police in general, 55% of the population was satisfied with the way their area was policed.

5. It would appear from the questionnaire that opinion regarding the police, be it either negative or positive, tended to be quite strong. It was felt, however, that the public would have more confidence in the police if they were more accountable to the public and recruited more ethnic minorities. The survey did point out that people tended not to believe that the police were prejudice against black or Asian people, with 29% of all people, and 24% of black or Asian people agreeing. The rest was made up of Sun readers.

6. The questionnaire picked out the following overriding themes: The police have inadequate resources The police should recruit more women The force should recruit more ethnic minorities They should be more accountable to the public People tend to trust the police...