This survey took place between 20-24 October 2017 and was conducted throughout all of Russia in both urban and rural settings. The survey was carried out among 1600 people over the age of 18 in 137 localities of 48 of the country’s regions. The survey was conducted as a personal interview in respondents’ homes. The answer distribution is presented as percentages of the number of participants along with data from previous surveys. The statistical error of these studies for a selection of 1600 people (with a probability of 0.95) does not exceed: 3.4% for indicators around 50%; 2.9% for indicators around 25%/75%; 2.0% for indicators around 10%/90%; 1.5% for indicators around 5%/95%.
ARE YOU CURRENTLY SATISFIED WITH THE WORK THAT THE POLICE IN YOUR CITY/NEIGHBORHOOD ARE DOING?
| Oct. 10 | Nov. 10 | Mar. 11 | Oct. 11 | Apr. 12 | Feb. 13 | Oct. 13 | Mar. 14 | Jun. 14 | Oct. 14 | Feb. 15 | Oct. 17 | |
| Absolutely | 3 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 11 |
| Mostly satisfied | 24 | 28 | 28 | 36 | 29 | 33 | 32 | 38 | 42 | 40 | 41 | 35 |
| Mostly dissatisfied | 37 | 36 | 38 | 32 | 37 | 35 | 33 | 31 | 28 | 28 | 29 | 24 |
| Absolutely not | 23 | 19 | 18 | 14 | 15 | 13 | 13 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 7 | 10 |
| It is difficult to say | 13 | 12 | 10 | 13 | 13 | 16 | 18 | 17 | 14 | 16 | 18 | 20 |
HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE THE POLICE’S ATTITUDE TOWARD CITIZENS? (single-answer question)
| Dec. 07 | Oct. 17 | |
| Polite and considerate | 26 | 27 |
| Indifferent and formal | 42 | 33 |
| Harsh and rude | 14 | 11 |
| Illegal, unlawful | 5 | 5 |
| It is difficult to say | 14 | 17 |
| Prefer not to answer | 1 | 7 |
HAVE YOU GONE TO THE POLICE FOR HELP WITHIN THE PAST TWO YEARS?
| Dec. 07 | Oct. 17 | |
| Yes | 24 | 12 |
| No | 66 | 75 |
| I don’t remember | 7 | 9 |
| Prefer not to answer | 3 | 4 |
HOW, IN YOUR OPINION, DID THE POLICE REACT TO YOUR APPEAL? (percentage of those who had gone to the police for help; single-answer question; ranked in descending order based on October 2017)
| Dec. 07 | Oct. 17 | |
| My appeal was completely ignored | 20 | 25 |
| My appeal was paid an inadequate amount of attention, but my problems were ultimately solved through official channels | 21 | 21 |
| My appeal received an appropriate amount of attention and the police did everything they could, but ultimately were unable to solve my problems, as they fell beyond the police’s competence | 17 | 17 |
| My appeal received an appropriate amount of attention and my problems were solved, but in an informal/personal manner | 7 | 12 |
| My appeal received an appropriate amount of attention, the police did everything they could, and my problems were solved by means of a personal arrangement | 13 | 11 |
| My appeal received an inadequate amount of attention and my problem was solved through unofficial channels. As they say, you’ve got to grease some palms if you want to get anything done. | 12 | 10 |
| Other | 8 | 2 |
| It is difficult to say | 3 | 1 |
| Prefer not to answer | 1 | 1 |
Assessment of the police’s work in relation to whether or not the respondents had gone to the police for help in the past two years
|
All respondents |
Respondents who had gone to the police in the last two years |
Respondents who had NOT gone to the police in the last two years |
|
|
ARE YOU CURRENTLY SATISFIED WITH THE WORK THAT THE POLICE IN YOUR CITY/NEIGHBORHOOD ARE DOING? |
|||
| Absolutely | 11 | 9 | 12 |
| Mostly satisfied | 35 | 32 | 37 |
| Mostly dissatisfied | 24 | 33 | 22 |
| Absolutely not | 10 | 21 | 8 |
| It is difficult to say | 20 | 5 | 22 |
| HOW WOULD YOU ASSESS THE POLICE’S GENERAL ATTITUDE TOWARD CITIZENS? | |||
| Polite and considerate | 27 | 32 | 28 |
| Indifferent and formal | 33 | 36 | 34 |
| Harsh and rude | 11 | 16 | 10 |
| Illegal, unlawful | 5 | 9 | 3 |
| It is difficult to say | 17 | 4 | 18 |
| Prefer not to answer | 7 | 4 | 7 |
46% of Russians were satisfied with the work that the police in their city/neighborhood did (starting in 2014, a positive view of the police began to generally prevail over a negative view). However, respondents who had gone to the police for help in the past two years were dissatisfied with the police’s work more often than satisfied (54% versus 41%, respectively). One out of every four Russians (25%) who had sought help said that their problem had been ignored. Conversely, 17% of respondents said that their appeal received an appropriate amount of attention and that the police did everything possible to help. One out of every five respondents (22%) who had gone to the police for help said that their problem was solved “in an informal/personal manner”. Those who had gone to the police had a poorer opinion of the police’s attitude toward citizens than those who had not dealt with the police.
Translated by Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey (formerly Monterey Institute of International Studies).
The ANO Levada Center has been forcibly included in the registry of non-commercial organizations acting as foreign agents. Read the Director of the Levada Center’s statement of disagreement with this decision here.