The key results of the quantitative research on the Perception of Police in Montenegro 2021 have been published.

The public opinion research agency DeFacto Consultancy conducted a study on the perception of the police in Montenegro from September 29 to October 17, 2021, on a nationally representative sample of 1,002 respondents. This research is part of a longitudinal project on the perception of the police in Montenegro, following previous studies conducted at the end of 2019 and 2020. It allows for comparing results and monitoring trends and changes in the attitudes of Montenegrin residents regarding the image and work of the police.

The sample structure was defined using the multistage random sampling method, which guarantees a standard statistical error of +/- 3.1% with a 95% confidence interval for a 50% distribution.

Representatives of DeFacto Consultancy, Stevan Kandić and Božana Mašanović, presented the research results to the employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Police Administration on Friday, November 19th.

Presentation of the key results of the research on the Perception of the Police in Montenegro

The research has identified several interesting phenomena and changes in the perception of the police compared to previous waves of the project.

The Police Directorate is perceived more positively than the previous year. This institution ranks third in terms of trust, right behind religious institutions and the Montenegrin army, with a combined trust level of 53.9% of respondents. Nearly two-thirds of respondents, 7.7% more than the previous year, claim that the police collaborate with citizens in their community, which has also led to an increase in the number of those who feel safe in their community, reaching 82.1%. All of this has contributed to an increase in the number of respondents (68.6%) who describe the security situation in Montenegro favorably.

Security, safety, and peace are the first associations with the police. Nearly three-quarters of respondents perceive the police positively, with 41.1% of them stating that the police have improved in the last 12 months. The police are most effective in the areas of citizen safety (59.9%), border management and security (53.5%), and traffic safety (50.3%). There is a significant increase in satisfaction with areas related to the fight against crime, corruption, and drug trafficking compared to the previous year. On the other hand, satisfaction with activities more focused on the community, such as traffic safety and preventing domestic violence, is declining.

Belonging to the Serbian ethnic group is no longer the dominant indicator of a negative attitude toward the police. Serbs are much more likely than members of other ethnic groups to claim that there has been an improvement in police work in the last 12 months, with 55.2% of respondents from this group agreeing. The number of Serbs who have a positive opinion of the police is increasing, while the number of positive opinions from Montenegrins, Bosniaks, and Muslims is decreasing, resulting in more consistent values obtained in this wave. Specifically, 54.1% of Serbs trust the police, a significant increase from the previous year’s 25.7%. On the other hand, the number of Bosniaks and Muslims who trust the police has significantly decreased, from 71.2% to 46.4%.

The average Montenegrin police officer is perceived more positively than last year – 74.5% of respondents believe that police officers are characterized by politeness, 70.2% by communicativeness, and 66.3% by a willingness to help. Police officers are perceived worse than average by individuals under the age of 45, highly educated respondents, and those living in southern Montenegro. Three out of five respondents state that the Montenegrin police serve as a citizens’ service, while 52.1% believe that the police are adequately trained. On the other hand, respondents are least in agreement with the statement that the police recruitment system is transparent, with only 34.0% of respondents supporting this view.

There is a noticeable trend of increasing police autonomy; the number of respondents claiming that the groups listed in the questionnaire can influence the police has decreased in all seven cases. Politicians at the state level (74.5%) and criminal groups (67.9%) are recognized as the most influential groups, while citizens (22.7%) and civil society (19.3%) have the least influence.

Drug trafficking, drug addiction, and corruption are the three biggest security threats to Montenegro. Citizens attribute corruption not only to society but also to the police themselves. Although the number of respondents who believe that the police are successfully combating corruption is increasing (44.9%), a relative majority of 49.1% still believe that not enough has been done to combat this phenomenon. While only 7.3% of respondents believe that no police officer is involved in corruption, this represents an increase from the previous year’s 4.3%. On the other hand, 84.4% of respondents believe that police officers are involved in corruption to a greater or lesser extent.

84.3% of the surveyed population believes that women and men are equally capable of performing activities in the field of police work, a result almost identical to the previous year. Women, those under 55, more educated individuals, respondents identifying as Montenegrins, and residents of the coastal region are more likely to agree with this view. The majority of respondents agree that women can perform administrative and management tasks equally, but support for this view decreases as the job becomes more associated with outdoor work and special police operations. Half of the respondents completely agree that there should be more women in the police force, and more than four-fifths believe that women can be more effective in dealing with victims of human trafficking and domestic violence, as well as that mixed patrols are the best way to increase cooperation between citizens and the police. At the same time, female respondents are most concerned about how to balance work and family life (61.4%) and the demanding nature of police work (54.0%) when considering a career in the police.

Compared to the previous year’s research, there is an increase in self-reported information levels, from 39.8% to 55.4%. Respondents most often obtain information about police work through TV (70.3%) and internet portals (65.6%), with an increase in the use of information channels related to social media – Facebook and Twitter. Respondents are most interested in activities related to the fight against organized crime (71.7%) and corruption (68.1%). Only 22.8% of respondents claim to have access to a sufficient amount of information about police recruitment, indicating a need for further communication efforts to increase this parameter.

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