Citizen perception of Police improves, OSCE Mission to Montenegro survey finds

About three quarters of citizens perceive the Police more positively as compared to last year, while 41% of citizens claim that the police have experienced changes for the better in the previous 12 months. These are key findings from a Perception of the Police in Montenegro survey commissioned by the OSCE Mission to Montenegro, conducted by the Consultancy Agency DeFacto.

This is the third consecutive year in which this survey was conducted, fielded between 29 September and 17 October 2021 on a representative national sample of 1,002 respondents.

Results were presented on 19 November to representatives from the Ministry of Interior and Police Directorate. The survey found that the Police Directorate is the third most-trusted institution in Montenegro, behind religious institutions and the Army of Montenegro, enjoying trust of 53.9% of respondents. Almost two-thirds of respondents, an increase of 7.7% from last year, feel that the police co-operates with their community. Over 82% of respondents feel safe in their community and 68.6% of respondents describe the security situation in Montenegro favourably. Belonging to an ethnic community is no longer an indicator of a negative attitude towards the police.

Police officers are well perceived: 74.5% of respondents believe that police officers are polite, 70.2% find police communicative and 66.3% as willing to help. Three out of five respondents state that the police serve as a service to citizens, while 52.1% believe that the police are adequately trained. According to the research findings, the police are the most efficient in the field of protection of citizens’ safety (59.9%), border management and security (53.5%) and traffic safety (50.3%).

Security, safety and peace are the main associations with the police. Compared to last year, significantly higher satisfaction score has been recorded in the fight against crime, corruption and drug trafficking. According to the research, drug trafficking, drug use and corruption are perceived as Montenegro’s top security threats.

Also, the research findings show that 84.3% of respondents believe that women and men are equally capable of carrying out police duty, a result almost identical to last year’s. Compared to last year’s survey, respondents reported an increase in their level of being informed from 39.8% to 55.4%.

The Perception of the Police in Montenegro research provides information on citizens’ attitudes about the Police Directorate, its employees and the activities they carry out. The findings serve the Police Directorate to further develop a professional and democratic police service, which enjoys the trust of citizens with the capacity to detect and fight corruption and organized crime, while increasing security in the community.