Cops worldwide have come under intense scrutiny over the use of police violence, exacerbating a decline in public trust. This made us wonder: How do our men and women in blue fare compared to the rest of the G7 when it comes to public confidence? The answer: not well.
IPSOS’s annual Global Trustworthiness Index asks this very question to tens of thousands of adults across 31 countries, rating their trust in police on a scale of 1-5.
It found that since the end of the pandemic, trust has been on the decline. In the US, UK, Canada, Italy, and France, civilian trust in their police has dropped by at least 5% since 2019 due to alleged police misconduct, use of excessive force, and systemic racism.
The US and UK have seen the largest deterioration in trust, as accusations of institutional racism, homophobia, and misogyny stack up amid a string of high-profile incidents of police violence – such as the murders of George Floyd and Sarah Everard.
Not all trust is lost. Some countries, like Germany, are working very hard to rebuild trust – Deutschland recently established its first independent federal police commissioner focused on addressing police misconduct and discrimination.