Confidence in law enforcement grew during height of Covid-19 pandemic

Australians’ confidence in the police rose sharply during the first months of Covid-19 but ebbed back to normal levels as the pandemic wore on, a new study finds.

Australians’ confidence in the police rose sharply during the first months of Covid-19 but ebbed back to normal levels as the pandemic wore on, a new study finds.

Indigenous Australians and those born overseas were more likely than others to have reported an increase in confidence in police over the course of Covid, it reveals.

And people feel safer walking alone in their neighbourhood after dark now than they did in January last year, the data shows.

Based on quarterly surveys of more than 3000 Australians, the Australian National University’s Covid Impact Monitoring study finds people “generally viewed the police more favourably during Covid-19 compared to January 2020 when the pandemic had not yet reached Australia”.

“In the face of law enforcement having to quickly adapt to an evolving pandemic, this indicates that on balance Australians have responded positively to this shift in the police’s role,” it states.

“However, it should be noted that confidence in police peaked at August 2020 and … appears to be reverting back to pre-pandemic levels, with the October 2021 estimate not significantly different from that of January 2020.”

Nick Biddle, the author of the report – called Perceptions and experiences of crime during the Covid-19 period – said the rise and fall of confidence in the police force might come down to the level of support people had for the Covid restriction policies the police were enforcing.

“Particularly early on in the pandemic, the public health measures had a high level of support, and if police are seen to be enforcing policies that people agree with, support for police is likely to be higher,” Professor Biddle, from ANU’s Centre for Social Research and Methods, said.

“But there was some fatigue setting in over the restrictions during the course of 2021, which is why I suspect confidence in police fell across this year,” he added.

The study, the first in Australia to examine perceptions of police during Covid-19, also revealed those born overseas, Indigenous Australians, and those with only year 12 qualifications were significantly more likely to report ­improved levels of confidence in the police.

 

“This suggests that initiatives by the police in 2020, such as ensuring people abide by public health orders, may have had a particular impact on improved confidence for those born outside Australia,” it said.

“This is a particularly important finding, given that historically those from a culturally and linguistically diverse background, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders are more likely to have had adverse experiences with police.”

In terms of overall feelings of safety, the study shows Australians “now felt significantly more safe walking alone in their local area after dark than they did prior to the pandemic”.

“This indicates the decrease in reports of being a victim of burglary or assault has sat alongside increased perceptions of neighbourhood safety,” the report said.

Professor Biddle said police and policymakers could use the findings to work out what aspects of law enforcement have improved perceptions of police among the community, in particular among those minority groups, as Australia transitions to a new phase of the pandemic.

The report also found people reported lower levels of burglary or assault during 2020, though it came back to normal levels this year, in line with other crime data.