Summary
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 detail 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.