The Research and Statistical Bulletin ‘Experience of Crime and Perceptions of Crime and Policing and Justice: Findings from the 2023/24 Northern Ireland Safe Community Telephone Survey’ was released on Wednesday.

The report said 3,394 people were surveyed – 1,865 women and 1,529 men. Of those 1,631 were Protestant and 1,315 Catholic.

Photo: Liam McBurney/PA

Photo: Liam McBurney/PA

Overall public confidence in the police and police accountability arrangements – based on a seven-strand composite measure – was 80% in 2023/24, similar to the 2022/23 figure of 81%.

Two of the seven indicators that comprise the composite measure showed a statistically significant change.

The proportions who felt that the Policing Board is independent of the police (70%) and helps the police do a good job (79%) both dropped from 73% and 84% respectively.

In terms of the local police, 52% rated them as doing an excellent or good job, 36% considered them as doing a fair job, while 11% rated their performance as poor or very poor.

While the excellent or good job proportion showed no change when compared with last year, the 2023/24 figure of 52% is 10 percentage points lower than the 2020/21 figure of 62% with much of this decrease occurring between 2020/21 and 2021/22, when it fell from 62% to 55%.

When asked about overall confidence in their local police, 68% felt that, when taking everything into account, they had confidence in the police in their area, similar to the figure of 70% the previous year.

Justice Minister Naomi Long (Niall Carson/PA)

Justice Minister Naomi Long (Niall Carson/PA)

News Catchup – July 1st 2025

Confidence in community engagement dropped with decreases observed in the proportions agreeing that the police and other agencies seek people’s views about the anti-social behaviour (ASB) and crime issues that matter and that these issues are being dealt with, both down from 33% to 29% and 41% to 37% respectively between 2022/23 and 2023/24.

When asked about confidence in the criminal justice system (CJS), three-fifths (60%) were very or fairly confident that the CJS as a whole in Northern Ireland is effective, while 63% considered it to be fair. The latter saw a statistically significant decrease from 66% in

Responding to the survey, Naomi Long said: “It is great to see that public confidence in the police and police accountability arrangements has remained high at around 80% in 2023/24.

“This is particularly welcoming when considering the challenges PSNI have been facing in terms of workforce levels.

“I have been working closely with the Chief Constable and my Executive colleagues to ensure PSNI receives the funding it requires to recover its numbers.

“I will continue to push for more funding and am pleased that we now have a clear roadmap for delivering the officer numbers set out in the PSNI recovery plan.

“While there is no room for complacency it is reassuring to note that public confidence in policing remains high.

“This is a testament to the brave men and women of the PSNI who day and daily strive to keep our communities safe. The recent disorder we saw in Ballymena and other places across Northern Ireland shows how difficult a job policing is.

“It also shows how determined our police service is to keep our communities safe.

“The figures published today reflect the public’s acknowledgement of the exceptional work the PSNI does.”