MOSCOW, 10 November 2022. To mark Day of the Internal Affairs Officer Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VCIOM) presents the findings of a study on the perceptions and trust in policemen in Russia.

Trust in police and its divisions  

More than half of Russians say they trust in policemen in their region (62%); over the recent year this percentage has grown by 5 p.p. (57% in 2021). In recent four years this percentage did not fall below 54%. Over the ten years the level of trust in police officers has increased 1.7-fold (35% in 2012), and the share of those who definitely trust them has risen five-fold – from 3% to 15%. A third of Russians do not trust police officers (32% vs 61% in 2012). So the corresponding index* has hit 30 points this year, which is an all-time high. 

Trust in particular police divisions also show positive changes. Generally, the share of respondents who trust in eleven police divisions varies between 40% and 64%. Most of Russians show trust in transport police and dispatch centre officers. The corresponding index** hit 45 points for the former (+26 p.; 19 p. in 2012), and 42 points for the latter (+ 22 p. compared to ten years ago). Youth liaison officers are ranked third - half of respondents trust them (55%); the index reached 38 points (vs. 26 p. in 2012). This is followed by district police officers (35 p.; +18 p. since 2012) and criminal investigators (35 p.; +20 p.). Trust in patrol guards has strengthened (-3 p. in 2012 vs 34 p. today). Trust in road traffic police has considerably strengthened - the index gained 48 points (-14 points vs. 34 points in 2022).

The index of trust in tourist policemen has reached 31 points this year (+5 p. since 2018); trust in investigators hit 27 points. Migration police and drug control officers are least trustworthy policemen, according to Russian views (23 p. and 17 p. respectively).

*Trust in regional police Index shows how much Russians trust in police in their region.  The higher the index value, the higher the trust levels are.  The index is based on the question: “Do you trust or distrust the police officers in your region?” using the difference of positive and negative answers. The index is measured in points and can vary between −100 and 100.

**Trust in particular police divisions Index shows how much Russians trust in different police divisions. The higher the index value, the higher the trust levels are. The index is based on the question: “Please assess the level of your trust or distrust in the following police divisions…” using the difference of positive and negative answers. The index is measured in points and can vary between −100 and 100.

VCIOM-Sputnik Russian nationwide telephone survey was conducted 5 November, 2022. A total of 1,600 Russians aged 18 and over took part in the survey. Survey method: telephone interviews, stratified random sample based on a complete list mobile phone numbers in use in Russia. The data were weighted according to social and demographic characteristics. The margin of error at a 95% confidence level does not exceed 2.5%. In addition to sampling error, minor changes to the wording of questions and different circumstances arising during the fieldwork can introduce bias into the survey.

Key effectiveness indicators, November 5, 2022 survey:  cooperation rate (CR)* = 0.8093; minimum response rate (MRR)** = 0.0217; response rate (RR)*** = 0.1452. Based on corporate standards: https://profi.wciom.ru/principy_standarty/korporativnyj-standart-po-izmereniyu-rezultativnosti-oprosov-sputnik-vciom/

* CR: the number of complete interviews divided by the sum of: а) complete interviews and b) non-interviews with eligible respondents.

** MRR: the number of complete interviews divided by the sum of: а) complete interviews, b) interrupted interviews after successful screening and c) all the respondents where it is unknown whether they meet the selected criteria or not.

** RR is calculated in the same way as MRR, with the only difference that the number of respondents with unknown eligibility decreases proportional to the percentage of eligible cases in the total number of respondents with identified eligibility or non-eligibility.

*Face-to-face household interviews were used (“Express” project); stratified multi-stage sample based on socio-demographic quotas; representative of the Russian population aged 18 and older by type of settlement, gender, age, education and federal district. Sample size: 1,600 respondents.