BBC London Metropolitan Police Poll

ComRes interviewed 1,000 London adults by telephone between 12^th and 16^th March 2014. Data were weighted to be representative of all London adults aged 18+.

Date Published: 27 Mar 2014

Categories: Public and communities | Public Sector | Social | UK

Description

Trust in the Metropolitan Police

·         There continues to be widespread trust in the Metropolitan Police, but levels of trust have fallen slightly since June (from 85% to 81%), while the proportion of Londoners saying that they think the Met is untrustworthy has increased slightly (from 12% to 16%).

·         The proportion of Londoners believing that the Metropolitan Police is currently an institutionally racist organisation has increased since June – a third of Londoners (32%) now think this, compared to a quarter who said the same in the summer (27%).

·         Two in five Londoners (39%) say that they are less likely to trust the Metropolitan Police following the revelation that an independent report found that undercover officers were used to spy on the family of Stephen Lawrence.

·         Although three quarters of Londoners (74%) say that use of stop and search by police is an effective way of reducing crime, half say that it unfairly targets black men (51%).

·         Two in five Londoners (39%) think that the police currently use stop and search powers too much, although half (51%) disagree.

·         Four out of five Londoners (80%) say that it is important to them personally that the Metropolitan Police service reflects the ethnic make-up of London. 43% say that it is very important.