thinking

Public views of Vickie Chamberlain and Christopher McLean, Ipsos MORI Scotland

A small minority of the public was opposed to the reorganisation of Scotland’s police forces when the legislation was first proposed. Following the implementation of the change, opinion has shifted, although a substantial minority remain opposed, as the public feel it will make little difference to local policing.

On April 1st this year, Scotland’s eight territorial police considerably lower among younger people and those forces and the Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement living in Scotland’s most deprived areas. Agency were merged to create , the second largest police force in the UK, after the Police Scotland insists that the merger will make little Service. The formation of Police difference to local policing and that, if required to Scotland represented the most radical reform of police attend an incident, the police will turn up and deliver structure in Britain for many years, with the transition the same level of service as they have in the past. For being implemented less than two years after Justice most people this message appears to be accepted: Secretary Kenny MacAskill announced that budget just over half of the Scottish public don’t expect the cuts had made the country’s policing model single force structure to make any difference to the unsustainable. way their local area is policed, while around one in ten think that it may even improve services. Indeed, those The aim of the reforms is to save money by reducing living in Scotland’s most deprived areas, where service duplication, merging backroom functions and policing may be more visible and most challenging, negotiating better deals with suppliers. However, the were most likely to think that the merger would merger has been controversial with critics arguing that improve local policing. the move will lead to redundancies affecting frontline services and local law enforcement. However, around one in four think the way their local area is policed will get worse. As we might expect, Concern about the proposed merger was reflected in those who say they support the creation of a single our August 2011 poll, just one month before the force are more likely than those who oppose it, to think legislation creating a single police force was that policing in their area will improve. However, it is announced, which found that just over half of Scots also worth noting that those who were already aware were opposed to the idea. However, nearly two years of Police Scotland at the time of the poll were on, in May 2013 and just a month after the single force significantly less likely than those who weren’t, to think came into operation, our latest poll suggests that that policing will improve, suggesting that simply opposition to the merger has softened but just under a raising awareness of the move will do little to garner third still oppose the creation of a single police force. support.

Our May poll also shows that awareness of the merger It is still early days for Police Scotland and the debate is high, with around three quarters of Scots having over how cost-cutting measures are perceived to be heard of Police Scotland, although awareness was having an effect on frontline policing will doubtless

rumble on in the coming months and years. Demonstrating that frontline services are not diminished will go a long way to increasing public support. Acknowledgements and copyright

This thinking is based on data from Ipsos MORI Scotland’s Scottish Public Opinion Monitor.

For more information about this work contact Christopher McLean Senior Research Executive Ipsos MORI Scotland 4 Wemyss Place, , EH3 6DH

[email protected] 0131 240 3264

www.ipsos-mori.com/offices/scotland.aspx