Report Summary
This report provides members of the Policing Performance Committee with highlights and insights arising from routine public polling conducted in August 2025.
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Confidence in the Police
Respondents were asked how much confidence they have in the police in Scotland on a scale from 0, ‘No confidence at all’ to 10, ‘Complete confidence’. Respondents were also given a definition of confidence: ‘By confidence, we mean how strongly you believe that Scotland’s police officers will be capable and effective if you called them, for example, to investigate a crime, to tackle a crime in your area, or to respond to your 999/101 call.’ The graph below shows results from the last three waves of data collection.
About two in five (42%) rated their confidence in the police in Scotland as high (7-10), while one in three (33%) rated their confidence as medium (4-6) and one in five (19%) rated their confidence as low (0-3), with ratings remaining stable from the previous wave. Likewise, the average (mean) of all respondents’ confidence ratings was 5.69, indicating no meaningful change from the previous wave’s average of 5.70.
