The Garda Public Attitudes Survey 2023 shows public perception of An Garda Síochána’s work in their community remains positive.
The survey of 7,682 people, aged 18 years and over, and 835 young people (16 and 17) living in Ireland was undertaken between February and December, 2023 by Ipsos B&A
The number of people that believe An Garda Síochána listen to and address the concerns that matter to the community has remained high for the third consecutive year, according to the 2023 Garda Public Attitude Survey.
This annual nationally representative study has also found that more people now feel that An Garda Síochána is human rights focused (82%) and agree that it is representative of the diverse communities it serves (56%).
• 89% of respondents trust An Garda Síochána
• Vast majority of young people trust An Garda Síochána (90%) while 87% say they would be treated with respect by Gardaí
• 73% of adults are satisfied with the service provided by An Garda Síochána over 90% find Gardaí friendly or helpful.
The public’s views about Gardaí and the Garda organisation across demographic categories generally remained positive in 2023. The survey indicates that those aged 65 years and older, and non-Irish nationals hold the most positive views of the organisation.
Similar to the last four surveys (2018, 2019, 2021 and 2022) public trust in An Garda Síochána is high at 89%. The organisation’s emphasis on a community based approach to policing is reflected also with 75% of respondents agreeing we are community focused.
Satisfaction with Garda service to local communities remained high in 2023, at 73% percent, though this is a 2% decrease from 2022.
Sexual offences continued to be the greatest issue among the majority of respondents (91%) when asked to consider what should be the top policing priority for An Garda Síochána. This was the case regardless of gender, age or nationality.
Domestic abuse was also rated as a high policing priority by 90% of respondents, second only to sexual offences. Human trafficking, assaults, drug offences and illegal weapons all featured significantly across all demographics in terms of priorities for An Garda Síochána.
In 2023, 82% agreed that An Garda Síochána is focused on human rights. This is an increase on 2022 when it stood at 79%.
Other perceptions in 2023 show the majority agreed that An Garda Síochána is effective in tackling crime (64%) and both modern and progressive (69%).
In particular, there has been a notable increase in the proportion of respondents that agree the organisation is representative of the diverse communities it serves – increasing to 56% in 2023 from 53% in 2022.
Speaking on the publication of the results today, Garda Commissioner Drew Harris said, "I am pleased to see all of the positive feedback from those that took part in this independent study as it is a reflection of the consistent hard work of Gardaí nationwide.
"In order to continue building on the high level of public trust and satisfaction with the services that An Garda Síochána provide, we must listen and take on board the constructive views of those we serve. In a large organisation of more than 18,000 personnel all working towards the common goal of keeping people safe, there will always be areas in which we can strengthen our work.
"There is much for us to take away from this survey, particularly in the area of keeping victims informed, to ensure that we are continually improving the vital service we provide to the people, of Ireland.”
Victims of crime
The victimisation rate for 2023 is 5.9% - an increase of 0.5% on the 2022 survey. Of the 7,682 respondents in the 2023 study, 75% had reported their most recent crime to Gardaí.
The most common crimes experienced by victims were criminal damage, burglary, assault and online fraud.
For the second consecutive year, 53% were satisfied with how their case was handled. Just under half (47%) of those that reported their most recent crime felt that the information received from Gardaí was ‘about right’.
Fear and worry about crime
Most respondents (53%) reported having "no fears” or "very few fears” about crime. Over half of people surveyed stated that fear of crime had little or no impact on their quality of life.
42% of respondents do not worry about becoming a victim of crime. However, they were slightly more likely to worry about someone they live with becoming a victim of crime (44%).
As was the case in previous years, national crime was seen as more of a problem than local crime in 2023. The perception that national crime is a ‘very serious’ or ‘serious’ problem combined, has decreased further in the 2023 Garda Public Attitudes Survey to 72% - this was at a 78% high in 2019. Equally, those who considered local crime something of a problem has decreased from 49% in 2019 to 37% in 2023.
Trust and Satisfaction in An Garda Síochána
89% of people have trust in An Garda Síochána. This remains at a very high level as in the previous four years.
73% of respondents were very satisfied or quite satisfied with the service from Gardaí, while over 60% confirmed that they believe Gardaí are effective in tackling crime.
The majority expressed positive views of how the Garda organisation is managed (60%).
Garda visibility at a national level
41% of those surveyed had an awareness of Garda presence in their local area in 2023 – 2% lower than in 2022 and 8% lower than in 2021. In addition to this, 20% regularly see Gardaí on patrol by car.
The proportion of respondents who felt that Garda presence was about right in their local area currently stands at 42%. When Garda presence was viewed as ‘about right’, the main reasons cited were that ‘there is not much crime’ or that they ‘see Gardaí patrolling in cars.’
Treatment by An Garda Síochána
92% of respondents were of the belief that An Garda Síochána would treat you with respect if you had contact with them for any reason – a slight rise on last year’s survey. In 2023, 77% of respondents either agreed or strongly agreed that they would be treated fairly by Gardaí regardless of who they are. This is a 2% increase on 2022.
Some 92% of people surveyed felt that Gardaí would treat you with respect when in contact with them.
61% of those surveyed disagreed with the statement that ‘community relations with the Gardaí are poor’.
Close to 70% of respondents continue to either agree or strongly agree that the Gardaí in their area can be relied on to be there when they are needed.
Perceptions of An Garda Síochána
82% agreed that An Garda Síochána is focused on human rights – an increase from 79% in 2022.
There was also a yearly increase in the percentage of people that feel An Garda Síochána is community focused (75%) and 64% agreed that An Garda Síochána is effective in tackling crime.
Young people and An Garda Síochána
The views of young people aged 16 and 17 years were captured again as part of this year’s survey. 2023 saw the largest sample of this age category since the resumption of the survey in 2015 with the views of 835 young people sought as part of the study.
Young people expressed 90% trust in An Garda Síochána. Perceptions of An Garda Síochána were also high – with over 80% feeling satisfied with the service provided by An Garda Síochána to local communities.
87% also agreed they would be treated with respect by Gardaí; 71% felt they would be treated fairly and 84% believe Gardaí to be friendly and helpful.
There were positives in other areas also including 75% agreement that Gardaí address things that matter in their local community and 78% stating that An Garda Síochána can be relied upon to be there when needed.
