Police and the Public in England and Wales. Home Office Research Study No. 117.
London: HMSO, 1990.
This report examines the extent of public contact with police, and some of the consequences of their
encounters. It is based on the findings of the third sweep of the British Crime Survey (BCS), which was
conducted in February and March of 1988. Police are the most visible agency of local government. The BCS
indicates that in a little over a year almost 60 percent of the adult population has some occasion to come into
contact with them. One chapter examines the reasons why people contact the police, including to report
crimes, and their satisfaction with the service they received. Another chapter details who gets stopped by the
police, what happened during those encounters, official complaints lodged against police, and the effects of
the Police and Criminal Evidence Act (PACE). Further chapters examine crime reporting and stepping forward
to serve as a witness. Unlike some other agencies, police depend upon the active cooperation of the public to
get their job done. They need to be notified promptly of crime and other emergencies, and members of the
public must be willing to step forward when they have information which would be useful in their
investigations. Therefore, when the public think of the police is of more than casual interest. They care about
the quality of policing. Most have at least some basis for making a judgment about police performance, and
the police need their confidence. However, while the public has a great deal of confidence in the police, there
is also some reason for concern about the direction in which opinion is moving.
London: HMSO, 1990.
This report examines the extent of public contact with police, and some of the consequences of their
encounters. It is based on the findings of the third sweep of the British Crime Survey (BCS), which was
conducted in February and March of 1988. Police are the most visible agency of local government. The BCS
indicates that in a little over a year almost 60 percent of the adult population has some occasion to come into
contact with them. One chapter examines the reasons why people contact the police, including to report
crimes, and their satisfaction with the service they received. Another chapter details who gets stopped by the
police, what happened during those encounters, official complaints lodged against police, and the effects of
the Police and Criminal Evidence Act (PACE). Further chapters examine crime reporting and stepping forward
to serve as a witness. Unlike some other agencies, police depend upon the active cooperation of the public to
get their job done. They need to be notified promptly of crime and other emergencies, and members of the
public must be willing to step forward when they have information which would be useful in their
investigations. Therefore, when the public think of the police is of more than casual interest. They care about
the quality of policing. Most have at least some basis for making a judgment about police performance, and
the police need their confidence. However, while the public has a great deal of confidence in the police, there
is also some reason for concern about the direction in which opinion is moving.
Contacts Between Police and The Public: A British Crime Survey Report. Home Office
Research Study No. 135. London: HMSO, 1994.
This report presents some of the findings of the 1992 British Crime Survey (BCS) about people’s experiences
of and attitudes toward the police. In all, 54 percent of those interviewed recalled some encounter with the
police during the previous year. About a third of respondents had contacted the police about some matter, 20
percent had been stopped or investigated in some way, and 14 percent had been visited by police who were
rendering them some service. The report describes the reasons why people contacted the police, and the
circumstances under which the police stopped and questioned members of the public. It also describes what
happened during these encounters, and people’s assessments of how the police had done their job. There
is a discussion of trends in public satisfaction, and of complaints initiated against the police. Another chapter
examines in details the factors that lie behind the reporting of crimes to the police. The report concludes that
reporting is strongly linked to the seriousness of crime, race, victim-offender relationships, fear of reprisal,
and insurance coverage.
Research Study No. 135. London: HMSO, 1994.
This report presents some of the findings of the 1992 British Crime Survey (BCS) about people’s experiences
of and attitudes toward the police. In all, 54 percent of those interviewed recalled some encounter with the
police during the previous year. About a third of respondents had contacted the police about some matter, 20
percent had been stopped or investigated in some way, and 14 percent had been visited by police who were
rendering them some service. The report describes the reasons why people contacted the police, and the
circumstances under which the police stopped and questioned members of the public. It also describes what
happened during these encounters, and people’s assessments of how the police had done their job. There
is a discussion of trends in public satisfaction, and of complaints initiated against the police. Another chapter
examines in details the factors that lie behind the reporting of crimes to the police. The report concludes that
reporting is strongly linked to the seriousness of crime, race, victim-offender relationships, fear of reprisal,
and insurance coverage.
Police-Public Encounters
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