Conditions for the formation of public trust in the police in the context of improving law enforcement

Desiatova Ol'ga Vasilevna PhD in Law Associate Professor, Department of LLC, Tyumen Institute of Advanced Training of Employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia 625049, Russia, Tyumen region, Tyumen, Amurskaya str., 75 olya.desyatova.80@mail.ru

One of the main indicators of the stability of society is the trust of citizens in social institutions, which allows for the progressive socio-economic development of the state.  The level of public confidence in the police directly affects the effectiveness and completeness of its functions to protect the interests and rights of citizens, ensure public safety, prevent and combat crime.

The research methodology is represented by the universal dialectical, logical, statistical, formal legal, and comparative legal research methods used.

The issues of public trust in the police have been the subject of scientific research more than once. In particular, these issues have been considered at various times in the works of the following authors: V.I. Mayorov, O.V. Zueva, O.N. Dunaeva, N.N. Demidova, A.P. Titarenko, T.N. Yudina, V.V. Potapov, V.A. Ilchenko, E.N. Vasilyeva, T.M. Bormotova, A.N. Shchegoleva et al.

In scientific research of a socio-legal orientation, it was found that the level of trust of citizens, as a social attitude, affects the assessment of satisfaction with the activities of the police. The problem of building trust in the police on the part of citizens has been one of the most urgent since the beginning of modernization in 2011 of the activities of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia and territorial internal affairs bodies. This event was preceded by the publication of Decree of the President of the Russian Federation No. 1468 dated December 24, 2009 "On measures to improve the activities of internal affairs bodies". Public assessment, along with official statistics and expert assessment, have been established as official criteria for the effectiveness of the police as a social institution performing functions to ensure public safety and counter crime.

Since 2009, the All-Russian Center for the Study of Public Opinion (VTSIOM) has been regularly conducting surveys and analyzing the information received to assess the level of trust in the police as a social institution. The survey tools for the population of 85 subjects of the Russian Federation were developed taking into account the recommendations of the All-Russian Research Institute (VNII) The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia. In the initial period of modernization in 2011, the level of citizens' assessment of security and confidence in the protection of rights was fixed at 30%, and the level of trust in the police did not exceed 50% for a long time. The results of a survey conducted by VTSIOM at the end of 2022 show that according to these key indicators, steady growth has been observed over the past five years (2017-2022), so citizens' confidence in security and protection of rights is fixed in the range of 45-47%, and the level of public trust in the police exceeds 62%, which indicates a steady the dynamics of positive changes^[1].

The vector of socially oriented police activity, in the context of the implementation of the concept of social partnership, includes such concepts as public trust, cooperation, and interaction. Public trust in the police in the scientific literature is considered from various positions: socio-political, sociological, socio-psychological, psychological. In this study, public trust is considered in the context of a socio-political approach, this position is argued in the study of A.S. Sklyarov ^[7], since the causes and conditions influencing the formation of this phenomenon are multidimensional.

The substantive characteristics of such concepts as "assistance", "interaction", "cooperation" between the police and the population are considered in the study by A.M. Kononov, O.V. Petrov ^[2]. These forms reflect various types of social partnership between the police and individual citizens, public associations, state organizations in order to maintain law and order, prevent offenses and crime. Regular analysis of the current state of public confidence in the police, as well as the study of the causes and conditions that positively/negatively affect this social phenomenon, allow us to more accurately determine the actual ways of forming social partnership, which is projected to increase the functional effectiveness of the activities of internal affairs bodies in the context of improving the quality of life of citizens and the welfare of society, that is, achieving socially significant goals.

It is well known that the concept of "social partnership" between the police and the population originated in foreign countries with a fairly high level of socio-economic development and formed foundations of civil society. In the period of the 80-90s of the last century, these states experienced a crisis in the effectiveness of law enforcement agencies against the background of an increase in crime. Research has shown that in modern conditions of social development, the established "crisis model" of police activity is ineffective for a number of reasons: a large staff, exclusively forceful methods, dealing with the consequences of crimes that have already occurred, lack of active support from the population, inadequate technical equipment, etc. The eradication of these problems became the key to the modernization of the police as a law enforcement agency at the turn of the XX-XXI centuries ^[4]. 

The modernization of police activities in a number of foreign countries began to be carried out in the context of social management and, accordingly, the concept of "social partnership" between the police and the population, which brought the desired results.  The high effectiveness of the practical application of this strategy is based on the principles of openness of civil society, understanding of collective responsibility for creating a safe environment, including the prevention of offenses and crimes, assistance to the police in its activities, the ability to exercise public control over police activities (by citizens, public organizations, carry out social audit, participate in volunteer movements, etc. Thus, the key goal is achieved – a low crime rate, a safe environment for public life. It should be noted that in a number of foreign countries, the implementation of this concept has significantly improved the image of the police and increased the prestige of policing, and the trust of citizens is fixed at the level of 80-90%.

The adoption of the Federal Law "On Police" in 2011 was aimed at carrying out administrative reform in the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia and at implementing the concept of "social partnership" between the police and the population. In accordance with Article 9 of the said law, "The police, in carrying out their activities, must ensure public confidence in themselves and the support of citizens," thereby forming a positive image of a police officer in the public consciousness. Measures aimed at improving the effectiveness of police work included: certification of personnel; increasing the level of professionalism; strengthening moral consciousness and legal culture; culture of professional behavior and communication; material and technical re-equipment; material and social guarantees. The assessment of police activity includes public opinion and, despite the positive dynamics of recent years, it is quite obvious that there is a reserve for development in this area of public relations in order to improve law enforcement activities.

The purpose of the study: based on the analysis of scientific literature devoted to the formation of public trust of citizens and social partnership between the police and the population, to identify the most significant causes and conditions contributing to the growth of public trust in the context of improving law enforcement.

In the studies of T.N. Yudina, V.A. Bondaletov, Yu.N. Mazaev, T.N. Bormotova, I.V. Dolgorukova ^[10] devoted to the study of this problem, it is noted that the emerging public opinion about the police has an impact on three significant factors of the effectiveness of its activities: 1) there is an increase in the legal awareness of citizens, the positions of lawful behavior are strengthened, the desire to be a law-abiding citizen, follow the letter of the law; 2) the civic position is strengthened, there is a desire to assist the police in their activities to prevent offenses and crimes, involvement in public and volunteer activities to maintain law and order; 3) the process of legal integration of society is carried out, on the one hand On the one hand, citizens who assist the police in maintaining public order, on the other – the police as a social institution that ensures law and order and legality in the interests of citizens and the state.

Let's consider the conditions that influence the formation of an assessment of public opinion about the police.

The first condition. Focusing on the conditions and reasons for the formation of a high level of public confidence in the police, first of all, it is natural to assume that the actual reduction in crime and an increase in crime detection will provide a direct relationship between these phenomena. Let's turn to statistical data, so in 2011 2.4 million crimes were recorded, and 1.7 million people turned out to be the victim of criminal encroachments. Over a ten-year period, there has been a clear decrease in crime (especially in terms of serious crimes), so in 2022, 196,6795 crimes were committed, in which more than 1 million people were injured (a decrease of 43%).

But for an ordinary citizen, the effectiveness of police activity and trust in it, as noted in the study by O.V. Zueva, N.N. Demidova ^[1], is not formed on the basis of graphs of statistical data on the reduction of general crime and schemes for its further overcoming, but only on the basis of personal experience, feedback from acquaintances (and personally strangers), the established interaction with the local police commissioner, the situation at the administrative area of residence ^[9], etc. Thus, any contact between a citizen and the police becomes significant, and the prevailing personal opinion in a particular situation extends to the entire institution of law and order.

The second condition. An important condition for the formation of public trust in the police as a representative of the executive power are positive/negative environmental factors that affect the life of citizens in the subordinate territory, but are not included in the direct competence and functionality of the police. Let's take a closer look at what applies to them.

1. Shortcomings in the activities of state structures at the federal, regional, and local levels (city administration, social security services, healthcare, manufacturing enterprises, etc.). The range of negative effects can be very wide (unemployment, low wages, unavailability of housing, lack of variety of leisure, ecology, etc.). In this case, a negative socio-psychological transfer is carried out to all structures of executive power, including the police, which prevents the formation of public trust.

2. The facts of corruption crimes revealed and widely presented in the media among high-ranking government officials (governors, employees of ministries and departments, etc.). Bringing such information to the public is a sign of openness of state power, but it is also necessary to create a balance, that is, examples of selfless service to the people should be reflected in the media. In the opposite case, citizens develop a negative social attitude that corrupt behavior is inherent in all civil servants, including those working in the police, which also hinders the formation of public trust.

3. The internal affairs bodies are the most numerous law enforcement structure with the authority to apply measures of state coercion and power influence. As a result, there will always be a negative connotation in the assessment of police activity, especially from citizens who constantly violate the law. Therefore, when interacting with citizens who violate the rule of law, act within the framework of legality and regulations, remember that "respect for the law begins with respect for a citizen."  The behavior of police officers in all situations of interaction and communication (requirements for the professionalism of police officers, communicative interaction, the final result of activities, etc.) is under the close attention of citizens, which affects the assessment of the work of the entire department.

4. The prevailing part of the population is law-abiding citizens, practically without encountering the activities of the police. Accordingly, most citizens are not sufficiently aware of the limitations of the functional purpose of the police (ensuring public safety, countering crime). Because of this, they have high expectations from the activities of the police, seek help on issues outside their competence, which also prevents the formation of a high level of public trust.

The third condition. Attention should be paid to the channels and content of information flows about the police, potentially aimed at a wide range of respondents.  First of all, let's turn to official sources of information about the police: the website of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia and its territorial bodies directly (breadth of coverage and accessibility of the presentation of the material; the opportunity to ask a question, submit an application in electronic format; get preliminary information on the issue of interest). Modern mass media have a variety of forms and means of presenting material about police activities: television programs, radio broadcasting, periodicals, print and online publications, video programs, etc.

Information of a negative vector can also circulate in the open access of the telecommunications network of the Internet, distributed under the "guise of personal opinion" or agents of negative influence: manipulation, dissemination of "fakes"; massive "stuffing" of criminal information that causes strong negative emotions against the background of "inaction" of the police; an influx of negative reviews on social networks about the activities of the police and others . The difference between media platforms and traditional mass media (mass media) lies in such characteristics as multimedia, convergence, interactivity. Publishing activities are carried out around the clock, there is a lightning-fast dissemination of information, the information feed is updated every minute, the openness of the public space for the interaction of different social groups and communities.  In the modern world, the information sphere is one of the key conditions for the purposeful formation of a positive public opinion about the police.

The fourth condition. The basis of civil society is respect for the law, on the basis of which a set of moral, socio-economic relations and the functioning of social institutions ensuring real human rights, freedom of personal development are built, mechanisms of public participation and control over the activities of the state are developed. In this case, we are talking about the activities of public councils under the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia and its territorial bodies. Based on most publications, it can be noted that the public councils established under the territorial police departments do not operate to the full extent of their capabilities.

The study by V.I. Mayorov and T.M. Zanina ^[3] analyzes the activities of public councils at the Department of Internal Affairs for the period 2011-2022. The forms, methods, main directions and results of the activities of the public councils of the previous four convocations are considered (currently there are public councils of the fifth convocation). The reasons for the low recognition among the population of the activities of public councils under the internal affairs bodies are analyzed, despite the fact that there is a request for such activities from the population. The authors note the positive achievements associated with the introduction of the Caring Person platform, where information is provided in a communication and analytical format across all regions of Russia, which reduces the distance between citizens and territorial police departments as much as possible.

The main goal of the Caring Person project is to strengthen the civic position, the legal awareness of citizens, the involvement of non-governmental organizations and individual citizens in social partnership with the police, the development of cooperation in the prevention of crime and delinquency, and the production of a safe environment.  In accordance with Federal Law No. 44-FZ dated 02. 04. 2014 "On the participation of Citizens in the protection of Public Order", the forms of public interaction with the police can be: the creation of law enforcement-oriented public associations, freelance cooperation with the police, participation in the protection of public order, volunteering, etc. In recent years, the initiative of citizens to participate in law enforcement activities has been increasing, which confirms the increase in public confidence in the activities of the police.

The tasks of public councils under the internal affairs bodies, as noted by Yu.N. Kalyuzhny ^[6], include maintaining a dialogue between the police and citizens, including consideration of citizens' appeals (complaints) about any comments about inappropriate behavior of police officers or violation of citizens' rights, as well as positive initiatives and proposals to improve law enforcement activities. Representatives of the public council bring the generalized information to the management level and have the opportunity to monitor changes in the situation. Public councils have a significant resource for expanding contacts between the police and the public, maintaining a constructive dialogue, which will also help to increase public trust among citizens.

The fifth condition. The use of practical achievements in other sciences, such as sociology, psychology, as well as developments in the field of IT technologies, PR technologies to increase influence on public opinion in order to form a positive image of the police. It is known that the image of the police from a psychological point of view is only a social constructor and does not belong to the police as a given, but exists only in the representations, opinions and assessments of each individual subject. A positive image of the police evokes positive emotions, on the basis of which trust arises, and then a stable social attitude develops. The formation of a positive image of the police is important, first of all, when communicating indirectly with large social groups, when the main source of information is the mass media. Modern means of communication (SSC) significantly expand the types of interaction between police and citizens, which serves to remove barriers and maintain an active "dialogue" in the context of a policy of openness and accessibility, which is an attribute of a democratic state.

Society has a complex social structure, differs in gender and age criteria, financial security, educational level, legal culture, therefore, firstly, police officers in their activities should consistently build "dialogue relations" with the population, taking into account real conditions, secondly, for the successful implementation of image policy it is necessary to bring information taking into account segmentation of "social objects" that fall under the formative influence ^[5]. Public opinion is quite flexible, it includes social stereotypes, prejudices, therefore, a positive image of the police is the result of long–term and consistent work of the mass media, confirmed by the real results of the activities of the law enforcement agency.

The sixth condition. The formation of a civil society is a long process. Currently, it is necessary to pay active attention to the younger generation and youth in order to form a high level of legal awareness and legal culture, as well as greater involvement in maintaining law and order and providing assistance to the police. It should be borne in mind that the older generation's idea of the police as a law enforcement agency was formed during the difficult period of the 90s and earlier, has a "historically" contradictory assessment, a certain "wariness" and "prejudice", which has a fairly stable effect on the public assessment of police activities at the present time, despite the obvious achievements in reducing crime ^[8]. While the younger generation does not have such a "historical memory", they grew up in different conditions, more open to social partnership with law enforcement agencies in maintaining a safe environment, which expresses their active civic position. The policy vector focused on the model of social partnership between the police and citizens with the involvement of active youth is already showing positive results.

Thus, the conditions of direct and indirect influence on the formation of public trust in the police include the following: high results of police activity in protecting public order and ensuring public safety; the current situation in the subordinate administrative area, interaction with the district police commissioner; favorable/unfavorable environmental conditions (number of unemployed, living conditions, leisure conditions, etc.); information circulating in society (mass media, mass media); the implementation of the image policy of the law enforcement agency, the activities of public councils; the involvement of an active part of young people in social partnership for the maintenance of law and order and crime prevention.

The police, as the most active social factor in building relations with the population, need to strengthen the influence of positive conditions of interaction and channels of communication with citizens, public associations and government agencies, and minimize the influence of negative conditions considered in this study, which will contribute to increasing public confidence in the police and improving law enforcement.

^[1] Police trust: monitoring [Electr. resource]. https://wciom.ru/analytical-reviews/analiticheskii-obzor/doverie-policii-monitoring (date of request. 15. 11. 2023)