WM Police Authority Survey On Crime

Councillor Phil Bateman said "this is an important survey for West Midlands Police Authority. It sets out our reactions to the police and our fears. Wolverhampton folk clearly are concerned with burglary. They also see troublesome teenagers ,vandalism and graffiti as a pressing problem."

BACKGROUND


The West Midlands Police Authority are committed to providing a quality service, including consultation with the communities they serve.

The West Midlands Police area consists of the seven Metropolitan Borough Councils (Local Authority Areas) of Birmingham, Coventry, Dudley, Sandwell, Solihull, Walsall and Wolverhampton.

The area serviced by the West Midlands Police Force covers approximately 90,113 hectares, with a population of 2.56 million people (2001 Census). This area is divided into 21 Operational Command Units.

West Midlands Police wish to repeat the Public Perception Survey previously conducted in 1999 and in 2001 in order to measure residents
Perception of the service offered.
Level of satisfaction with local policing.
Perception of crime and disorder in their area.
Priorities for the Local Policing Plan.
Priorities for the Best Value Performance Plan.

The Authority wish to be able to examine comparisons between each of the seven Local Authority Areas (LA’s).

The Authority also wish to be able to examine comparisons between each of the 21 Operational Command Units (OCU’s).

METHODOLOGY

A sample of residents which is representative in terms of the population of each Local Authority was drawn from 2001 Census data.

Quotas were applied in terms of Gender, Age and Ethnicity. In addition, minimum quotas were applied regarding consulting people with Disabilities and people who are Lone Parents, and BME quotas were boosted.

Face to Face In Home interviews were undertaken, with geographical areas assigned to individual interviewers in order to ensure a that spread of areas within each OCU were covered.

The bulk of interviewing took place between 24th July and 23rd August 2003.
A further 30 Booster interviews were conducted 19th to 23rd September 2003.

Although a precise record of refusals to participate in the study was not recorded interviewers in all areas reported that the public were generally very willing to give their views and that many expressed their appreciation of being given the opportunity to do so.
The interviews were found to take around 20 minutes.
SAMPLE

A minimum sample size of 3200 was requested.
 A total of 3229 interviews were conducted.


Those who work for, or who knew someone who works for the West Midlands Police were not excluded from the study.
Interviewed in the category were:
Family member (though not necessarily in the same household) 5.5%
Close friend 3.9%
Respondent 0.6%


 Hard to Reach groups:
There were identified as being Older people
Disabled people
Lone Parents
Minority Ethnic residents.
Young people (16-17 year old)

It was agreed that the following minimum sample of these Hard to Reach groups should be targeted.

Disabled people 200 Actually interviewed 597
Lone Parents 200 Actually interviewed 414
Young people 100 Actually interviewed 110

Minority Ethnic residents per Census data boosted to ensure valid sample sizes.
Census (per 3229)

Asian 433 Actually interviewed 478
Black 119 Actually interviewed 218
Mixed and other 94 Actually interviewed 115
Totals 646 811

20.0% 25.1%
Results have been weighted accordingly.

 OCU’s and LA’s 150 interviews per OCU required.








ACHIEVED:
By Authority
ALL Birmingham Coventry Dudley Sandwell Solihull Walsall Wolverhampton
3229 1355 460 318 316 169 311 300

By OCU
ALL D1 D2 D3 E1 E2 E3
3229 150 150 150 150 152 151
F1 F2 F3 G1 G2 H1 H2
152 150 150 150 150 161 150
J1 J2 K1 K2 L M1 M2 M3
167 151 150 166 169 158 152 150

 Gender
Male Female
ALL 47.7% 52.3%

Birmingham 48.6% 51.4%
Coventry 43.3% 56.7%
Dudley 48.7% 51.3%
Sandwell 45.9% 54.1%
Solihull 49.1% 50.9%
Walsall 48.6% 51.4%
Wolverhampton 49.3% 50.7%

 Age
16-17 18-29 30-44 45-Retired Retired
ALL 3.4% 23.4% 26.6% 22.0% 24.6%

Birmingham 3.3% 24.9% 25.9% 22.0% 23.8%
Coventry 3.0% 23.3% 27.6% 19.8% 26.3%
Dudley 3.5% 21.7% 27.4% 23.0% 24.5%
Sandwell 3.2% 20.3% 26.3% 24.7% 25.6%
Solihull 5.3% 20.1% 26.0% 22.5% 26.0%
Walsall 3.5% 22.5% 28.3% 21.2% 24.4%
Wolverhampton 3.3% 24.3% 26.0% 22.3% 24.0%

 Ethnicity
White Asian Black Mixed & Other
ALL 74.9% 14.8% 6.8% 3.6%

Birmingham 65.2% 19.1% 10.9% 4.7%
Coventry 83.7% 10.0% 3.9% 2.4%
Dudley 86.8% 9.4% 1.9% 1.9%
Sandwell 78.8% 14.2% 4.4% 2.5%
Solihull 84.6% 7.7% 4.1% 3.6%
Walsall 88.4% 7.4% 1.3% 2.9%
Wolverhampton 68.7% 20.7% 7.0% 3.7%

 Working status
Full time employed (30+ hrs) Part time employed (8-29 hrs) Casual work (Under 8 hrs) Registered unemployed Unemployed not registered House person/Full time parent Retired Student Other
ALL 28.9% 11.6% 0.4% 7.2% 3.9% 16.5% 25.4% 5.6% 0.5%

Birmingham 30.1% 11.2% 0.4% 6.9% 2.7% 16.5% 24.6% 6.9% 0.7%
Coventry 24.1% 12.6% 0.2% 3.5% 5.9% 20.0% 27.0% 5.9% 0.8%
Dudley 33.0% 11.3% 0.9% 6.6% 1.6% 15.1% 26.4% 4.4% 0.7%
Sandwell 24.7% 13.0% 0.3% 8.2% 10.1% 15.2% 25.6% 2.8% 0.1%
Solihull 33.1% 14.2% 0.0% 4.7% 1.8% 13.6% 25.4% 7.1% 0.1%
Walsall 26.4% 10.9% 0.6% 11.6% 2.6% 18.3% 25.7% 3.5% 0.4%
Wolverhampton 31.0% 9.3% 0.3% 10.0% 4.7% 14.3% 25.0% 4.7% 0.7%



SUMMARY

Just over half of the sample are ‘Satisfied Overall’ with the service provided by the West Midlands Police.

QUALITY OF LIFE

 Just over a quarter of the residents spoken to have lived in that area for five years or less, rising to almost half amongst those aged 18-29.
 71% of the sample are ‘satisfied with their neighbourhood’.
 Although ‘safety in the neighbourhood’, environment and schools are all important aspects in respect of making an area a ‘good place to live’, in essence, people simply want a quiet and peaceful life. The top three aspects chosen when asked what makes an area a ‘good place to live’ are:
‘Friendly neighbours and local people’,
A ‘low crime rate’,
A ‘peaceful area’.
 Almost half of those spoken to are of the opinion that their area has become worse over the last year although the majority (69%) consider that ‘people from different backgrounds/communities can live together’ in their area.


SAFETY

 Almost half of those spoken to ‘feel safe’ when outside in area after dark, however, a similar number ‘feel unsafe’. Females, those of retirement age and those who have a disability feel more vulnerable after dark, however, residents from all backgrounds hold fears.
 Less than 10% overall feel unsafe during the day.


PROBLEMS AND PRIORITIES

 Problems relating to ‘Troublesome teenagers and children’ are of most concern overall, closely followed by the related issues of ‘Vandalism and Graffiti’. Concern about these problems are voiced by all sectors of the community and are fully recognised by young people, with ‘Vandalism and Graffiti’ being the ‘most important’ problem perceived by 16-17 year olds.
 ‘Burglaries’ are seen as being the problem causing most concern in Sandwell and in Wolverhampton and rated third overall.
 Just over a quarter of the sample state that problems relating to ‘Traffic’ and ‘speeding’ is one of the three worst problems in the area.
 ‘Theft from vehicles’ is also chosen by a quarter of the sample as being one of the worst problems.
 Residents were asked how much their quality of life is affected by the problems they perceive. The degree, on average, falls very much in the middle of the scale, returning a mean score of 4.35 overall. Younger residents, and also paradoxically the elderly, feel that their quality of life is affected to a lesser degree than do the middle age groups from 30 to retirement age.

The main problem areas perceived (such as ‘Troublesome teenagers and children’, ‘Vandalism and Graffiti’, ‘Burglaries’) are not the problems which are felt to have most effect on the quality of life. Those residents who mention Presence of drug users and/or Presence of drug dealers are more likely to feel that the quality of their life is affected as are those who mention Problem/Noisy neighbours and Hooliganism.


NOISE
 Noise caused by Road Traffic is the most frequently mentioned problem overall although, understandably, returns vary over the different regions where interviewing took place.
The problem is reported to be highest in Birmingham, with traffic noise being a problem for 40% of residents.
 Noise from Neighbours is a problem for around 20% of these residents.
 Noise caused by Animals was mentioned by nearly 10% overall but no other noise source featured significantly over the sample as a whole.


PRIORITIES – TYPES OF CRIME/ANTI SOCIAL BEHAVIOUR
 In support of the finding that ‘Troublesome teenagers and children’ is considered one of the ‘worst problems’ in the area almost two thirds of the sample feel that the police should do ‘more about’ Youths hanging around in the street.
 Half of the public feel that the police should do more about Vandalism
Also underlining the finding that ‘Burglary’ is considered one of the ‘worst problems’ in the area well over half (58%) feel that the police should do ‘more about’ Theft and Burglary.
This opinion is strongest in Birmingham, Sandwell and Wolverhampton.
 Many of the public feel that the police are ‘doing as much as they can do’ in relation to the various types of Crime and in particular regarding ‘Crime against the Person’ and ‘Drug related crime’


MAKING PEOPLE FEEL SAFER

 The opinion that Having uniformed officers patrolling at random on foot would make people feel safer is very strongly voiced by this sample, scoring on average more than twice as much as any other suggested measure for reassurance. This option was chosen as ‘first choice’ by over half, and one of the top three choices by three quarters of the sample.
This opinion is strongest in Dudley, Coventry and Wolverhampton.
 Having Local beat officers who you know by name or by sight would reassure 44% overall.
This is opinion is very strong in Coventry but much less so in Walsall and Wolverhampton.
Also important :
 Officers arriving quickly following the report of a crime
 Marked police vehicles patrolling at random
 Uniformed police officers patrolling in targeted areas at certain times on foot


ATTITUDES

 Almost all agree that The police need to know about all crime that is going on, in order to gather intelligence.
 Almost two thirds overall feel that A civilian police employee can deal with minor crimes however opinion across the region is very divided, with Dudley, Solihull and Wolverhampton being very open to the idea and Sandwell and Walsall liking it much less.
 Half feel that To free up police time, police officers should deal with more minor incidents over the telephone.
 29% overall agree that I would not always expect a police officer to attend the scene of a crime.
47% in Sandwell agreed with this statement whereas only 15% in Solihull agreed.
Note: Agreement that they would not always expect an officer to attend does not mean agreement that they would not want an officer to attend.

 89% overall agree that Local councils should share responsibilities with the police over public safety issues.
 Over half agree that The police understand the needs of our local community.


POLICING PLAN

 Virtually everyone interviewed considered that all of the four elements of the current Policing Plan are important.
Ie Tackling anti-social behaviour and disorder. 98%
Reducing the number of street, drugs related and violent crimes. 98%
Combating serious and organised crime, including gun crime. 98%
Increasing the number of offences brought to justice. 97%
It is clear that residents are very much in agreement with the choice of issues which are being prioritised.


POLICING YOUR NEIGHBOURHOOD

 58% made On large housing estates one of their first three choices for police officers to ‘be on patrol and be seen by the public’.
This choice was highest in Coventry (71%) and in Sandwell (63%).
 55% made In shopping centres during the day one of their first three choices for police officers to ‘be on patrol and be seen by the public’.
This choice was also highest in Coventry (66%) but was of least interest in Sandwell (45%).
 48% chose In town centres near the early evening as one of their first three choices for police officers to ‘be on patrol and be seen by the public’.
This choice was of least interest in Coventry (39%) and most interest in Solihull (59%)
 Near schools at start and finishing times was rated fourth most important and was chosen by 42% of residents. Dudley were most interested in this option (51%) WITH Sandwell being least interested.

 Only 19% are satisfied with the level of Foot Patrols in their area.

 34% are satisfied with the level of Mobile Patrols in their area.


SEEING MORE OFFICERS OUT ON THE STREET

 Almost all agree that a ‘visible presence’ would Make local people feel safer and Reduce crime and disorder.
 At least three quarters believe that a ‘visible presence’ would Prevent crime and disorder and Deal with the root causes of crime and disorder.
 Over half have concerns that a ‘visible presence’ would Move crime and disorder on to other areas, however, only a quarter consider that seeing more officers out on the street would Lower peoples impressions of the area.
 Over half are of the opinion that a ‘visible presence’ would Reduce the availability of police for other policing functions and 61% have concerns that Police response times would be reduced.



FUNDING

 A quarter of the sample consider that the police have enough funding.
14% of Coventry residents are of this opinion, however, in Walsall 40% of those interviewed consider that the police are adequately funded.
Although half overall consider that the police do not ‘have enough funding’, not much more than a quarter of all of those who pay Council Tax are willing to pay a higher Council Tax to give greater resources to the Police.
 Of those who consider that the service does not have enough funding, over a third would be prepared to pay more.


AMOUNT PREPARED TO PAY
Those who said that they ‘were prepared to pay more’ were told “The Police Authority would need to spend £80.60 just to keep the services the same as now”. They were then asked “How much Police Authority Tax would you would be prepared to pay in order to receive a better service from the Police in this neighbourhood?”

 On average those who were prepared to pay more offered the figure of £ 89.22.



CONTACT WITH THE POLICE

 Almost a third of the sample had had some type of contact with the police in the previous twelve months.
In the majority of cases the type of contact involved the respondent contacting the police with information or to report a crime.

 62% of those who have contact with the police in the last twelve months are ‘satisfied’ with the way they were dealt with on first contact.

The main causes for dissatisfaction were :
Slow response/ no sense of urgency
Police not bothered/ didn't do anything
No response to what I reported
Also mentioned, although to a much lesser degree:
Expected it to be dealt with in better manner/ unfriendly/negative/abrupt/rude


VICTIM OF CRIME

 18% of the sample had been a victim of a crime in the previous year.
Burglary, theft and vandalism were most often mentioned.
Vandalism had not been reported by a third of those who had been a victim of this, because:
It’s not worth it/won't do anything anyway.
Was not a serious offence.
 9 people had been a victim of a racial attack or harassment incident. These incidents were not always reported, mostly because ‘it’s not worth it/won't do anything anyway’, however, most had reported the most recent occasion.
 Other categories of crime are generally reported.



COMMUNICATION

 Residents find out about policing in the neighbourhood via Local Newspapers, Word of Mouth, Local Television and, to a lesser extent, Local Radio. 21% claim not to receive information at all.
 When asked how they would prefer to receive this information, Local Newspapers and Local Television were seen as being acceptable sources by many. A quarter, however, would like to receive leaflets and publications through their door (compared to only 9% who claim to see these). Also, 16% would like to be able to ‘talk to police officers on the street’ and receive information that way (compared to 2% who already receive information by this route.)
There is little interest in receiving information via local groups or meetings and very little interest in the Internet in this context.



INVOLVEMENT AND CONSULTATION


 Over half consider that relations between people in the local community and the police are ‘good’.
The response was lowest in Sandwell, where 37% consider that ‘relations are good’, and highest in Dudley (64%) and in Solihull (62%).

 Neighbourhood Watch Groups and Local schools were seen as the most effective groups for the police to work with, followed by the Local Council, Youth groups and Residents Associations.
 Less than 10% of the residents spoken to stated that they had had the opportunity to express their views on crime, safety and policing issues in their local area during the past year (before this survey), and none of the 110 residents in the 16-17 age group spoken to recalled having had this opportunity in the last year.


Those who have had the opportunity to express their views have mainly done so via their local Neighbourhood Watch or Residents Association.

 Almost a third are confident that they can influence decisions affecting the local area and 40% are interested in being consulted, although only 20% in Sandwell expressed an interest.

Standard survey methods such as postally administered questionnaires and face to face surveys such as this one were the first choices as vehicles through which to express views and have influence. The responses to this question are perhaps biased by the fact that these people have already agreed to be interviewed by this kind of method. The principle of having influence via Meetings held by Community Groups is also popular.


MAIN ROLE OF THE POLICE

 The main role of the police is stated most often as being to:
Keep people/community/streets safe/peace
Prevent/tackle/reduce crime

20% of the sample stated :
Enforce law/keep law and order

This was an unprompted question.