Trust in police at all time low - councillor

Jabba Riaz said women and girls would not trust the force

Trust in the police is at an all-time low when it comes to sexual and violent crime, Worcester City Council’s deputy leader has said.

Jabba Riaz said: “These women and young girls will be thinking when they see a police officer ‘is it a friend or a foe?’"

The Police and Crime Commissioner, John Campion, responded that his force was “not the Met”, London's force where public confidence is lower, but admitted women were “disadvantaged by their gender”.

He pointed to the latest perception survey, in which 80% of the public said they had confidence in the West Mercia Police Force.

In the last 10 months, three West Mercia Police officers have been charged with or found guilty of sexual assault.

Liam Smith was given a nine-month community order after being found guilty of sexually assaulting a woman in September 2022.

Mark Slade admitted to five counts of sexual assault by touching.

An officer was charged with rape on 16 July for a separate incident.

At a communities committee meeting on Wednesday, Mr Riaz asked the commissioner how he intended to restore confidence in policing.

He said based on public opinion, "trust in the police is at an all-time low, especially in terms of sexual crimes and violence."

West Mercia Police and Crime Commissioner John Campion said he believed that "we are trusted by the society we serve"

Mr Campion admitted there was a decrease in confidence amongst some communities but said he remained hopeful.

"We see less confidence in parts of our communities who are either seldom heard or disproportionately policed. There is some dip in confidence when we see those who have been let down by the criminal justice system.

“There is also a problem that 50% of our society are disadvantaged by their gender. I talk to women who feel unsafe jogging about the place because of the unwanted attention they face.

“Those behaviours are unfortunately in policing as they are in society [but] I do believe we are trusted by the society we serve," he said.

According to the most recent public confidence survey results published by Mr Campion’s office, 82% of south Worcestershire residents said they had confidence in West Mercia Police.

Assistant Chief Constable Rachel Jones said the police force had increased proactive intelligence gathering to "root out criminal and unethical behaviour."

In a statement she said: "We’re proud of the work we’re doing to improve our force, from the inside out and we are relentless in rooting out any offenders amongst our ranks. We are not quiet when this happens, and proactively share outcomes of this work.”

This news was gathered by the Local Democracy Reporting Service which covers councils and other public service organisations.