UPDATE (9/6/23): "Trust in police hanging by a thread" says Inspector - Lies, Damned Lies and Police Commissioner Statistics

 

Southampton People's Decreased Trust in Police
2021 to 2023

UPDATE (9th June 2023)

"I can't recall a time when the relationship between the police and the public was more strained than it is now," Chief Inspector of Constabulary, Andy Cooke has told BBC News.

Under the headline

"Trust in police hanging by a thread, inspectorate says"

the Inspector said that:

"Time is running out if the police and the government are to restore public trust in policing".

The credibility of Donna Jones, the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC), is also hanging by a thread, given what she has told Southampton Independents:

"I have not seen a dip in trust & confidence of local officers in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight Constabulary"

Donna Jones Election Leaflet May 2021

---

by Andrew D Pope, 12th May 2023

Now that the local elections are over and the Conservatives have received another beating, we can reveal more facts about the public's views of the Police and the desperate tactics employed by PR people to hide the truth.

The Hampshire and Isle of Wight Police and Crime Commissioner Donna Jones - for brevity's sake let's just use "PCC" - has denied when questioned by us that there is a trust and confidence problem in our local Police.

This is despite people here in Southampton, in Hampshire and nationally telling survey after survey that they have decreased trust and confidence in the Police. This is not a new thing, it is a long-term trend. Yet Ms Jones and her staff want you to think otherwise.

Their false PR and spin is despite the view of the Police sinking further in the public eye following the false arrests made of anti-Monarchist protesters and Monarchy supporters alike.

When the PCC's public relations officers responded to questions about this topic, they have resorted to very dubious tactics.

But now the Head of Communications of the Office of the PCC has made claims that are possibly even more laughable and lacking credibility than those made by their employer, Ms Jones the PCC.

Under pressure to justify the untruths written by the PCC, the officer has pointed us to Yougov surveys specific to Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.

The officer has laughably pointed to an increase in trust - not over the period of time that Ms Jones has been PCC - to now since May 2021, but during just two months in late 2022 when there was a brief and very small uptick in trust. 

As you can see from the graph above, the overall trend from 2021 to 2023 is a marked decrease.

Be in no doubt that the overall trend is a decrease. The Yougov statistics prove it. And what residents have told us backs it up.

People have decreased trust in the Police over the time that Donna Jones has been the PCC.

This is why we asked Ms Jones about it, but it seems that Ms Jones is in denial.

We wonder what the Deputy PCC thinks about this. Former Portsmouth Tory Councillor Terry Norton was very outspoken when he was a councillor, including accusing other councillors of being hypocrites (e.g. Full Council on 9th November 2021, shortly before Norton was appointed and announced that he would step down as a councillor).

Perhaps he will have something to say about Ms Jones' claims and the desperate tactics of her PR staff to defend her?

Mr Norton was appointed as a colleague of Ms Jones. As people elsewhere in England have discovered to their shock and annoyance, there is no proper procedure for appointing Deputy PCCs.

It has tended to mean mates from the same political party being appointed, and it appears that Mr Norton's elevation to this publicly-funded role was no different to elsewhere. 

Competence is not relevant. The public being served is not relevant. What matters to party politicians like Norton and Jones is access to public money and spending it in the wrong ways, all to assuage their egos and their party, instead of what they are supposed to do, which is public service.

We will continue to bring the truth, instead of PR spin by officers who are paid for by public money, and the guff spouted by councillors or other elected representatives.

Yougov Survey - Public Confidence in Police At Record Lows But Local Tory Police Boss Thinks Otherwise

 

Standing Up for You

by Andrew D Pope, 20th March 2023

The majority of the public have no confidence or not very much confidence in the Police, new data from survey company Yougov has shown.

Yet the Hampshire Police and Crime Commissioner Donna Jones thinks the opposite. Only last week, we exclusively revealed her answers to our questions about this very topic. She said:

Donna Jones Election Leaflet May 2021

"I have not seen a dip in trust & confidence of local officers in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight Constabulary"

Residents have since got in touch with us to disagree with Ms Jones. They thought that her claims were laughable. Ms Jones was elected almost two years ago as PCC for Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, the area for which she was the Conservative Party candidate. 

Decrease in Confidence Proved By Yougov Surveys

We asked Ms Jones these questions due to concerns raised by lots of people in Southampton, over years, about their decreasing confidence in the Police and the increasing number of media stories about the misconduct of Police.

And it is not just in Southampton. Nationally, Yougov have shown a decrease in confidence.

Confidence in the Police has dropped by 10%

From the graph, you can see that confidence in the Police has dropped in less than two years.

The proportion of people who had a lot of or fair amount of confidence has dropped by 10%.

And in the opposite direction, 10% more people had not very much or no confidence.

The Detail of the Drop in Confidence in Police

Every month, Yougov surveys a representative sample of the country's population, approximately 1,700 adults. In the 6th March 2023 data, they found that:

• The majority of the public have either no confidence (17%) or not very much confidence in the Police (37%) - giving a total for the majority of 54% of people
  
• the lowest proportion of the people surveyed since July 2019 had a fair amount of confidence (34%) 
• the proportion of people with a lot of confidence in the Police was 4%
• 8% of people did not know when asked.
  

When Ms Jones was elected in May 2021, the respective figures were:

• 10% and 34% have no or not very confidence - giving a total of 44% then versus 54% now
  
• 43% had fair confidence - versus 34% now
  
• 5% had a lot of confidence - little change
  
• 10% of people did not know - little change
  

So during Ms Jones' reign over two years, confidence in the Police has decreased significantly.

So unless Ms Jones has evidence that the people of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight think differently to the rest of the country, her assertion is wrong. We have asked Ms Jones for evidence to support her claim.

EDIT: 21st March 2023 Updated with graph to make the changes clearer.

Holding Power To Account

EXCLUSIVE: Hampshire Police and Crime Boss Denies Public Loss of Trust in the Police - Do You Agree With Her?

 

Donna Jones Election Promises from May 2021

"I have not seen a dip in trust & confidence of local officers in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight Constabulary" says Donna Jones, Hampshire and Isle of Wight Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC)

"People sort things out for themselves around here."  said two police officers, outside a Southampton Police Station.

Elected to Represent The Public - But Has She?

Do you agree with Ms Jones? We would say that it is unlikely. 

The PCC is there to represent the public. Well, that's the theory anyway. 

But is Ms Jones representing you? Has she kept her promises from before she was elected as the Conservative Candidate?

Policing Before, During and After the Pandemic

What we have picked up from the public over many years of listening to them is that they feel let down by the Police. People feel that when they needed the Police, that they were not there. 

Many of the words that were used by the public in relation to the performance of the Police are not repeatable without asterisks. And trust us - we know, because we spent a lot of time listening to them. 

The most shocking thing we ever heard though was from a pair of Southampton Police Community Support Officers, literally outside a Police Station in Southampton. We told them what people thought of the Police from our doorstep conversations and from public meetings:

"People sort things out for themselves around here." the PCSOs said.

Yes, really. Are you surprised? Are you disappointed?

That was before the Pandemic. 

The negative perceptions of the Police got worse during and after the Pandemic. 

And since then, the public feel that they cannot even trust the Police. Worse than that, some people feel that the Police themselves are a danger to the public, with many high-profile examples - and not just in the Metropolitan Police as claimed by Ms Jones in her response, which you can see below. 

Would you agree with those other members of the public and their concerns over the Police?

Holding Elected Representatives To Account

So Southampton Independents stands up for residents and so we submitted questions to Ms Jones, having listened to the concerns of the public and following the recent revelations in Ms Jones' own report to the Police and Crime Panel. 

Not Just One Bad Apple...

It was revealed in Ms Jones' report to the Panel over the investigations into Police officers, based on the figures from Hampshire Constabulary:

"23 Police Officers were currently under investigation, facing allegations of sexual impropriety and/or domestic abuse were suspended on full pay from the Constabulary."

The Panel, which mainly consists of Westminster party-based councillors, is supposed to hold the PCC to account, outside of elections. Well, that's the theory. Have you even heard of the Police and Crime Panel? We doubt it.

Some people have tried to suggest that it is just "one bad apple". That is not the case, simply from the above but it is added to by the following concerning facts.

We already knew about the misconduct hearings published by Hampshire Constabulary on their website. Did you know about these? These are only the ones who have been caught. How many more are there? The suggestion by Ms Jones that it is just the Metropolitan Police is misinformation and misdirection.

And the lack of trust in the Police is even more concerning when Hampshire Local Democracy Reporter Natalie Ferero reported recently that:

"Nearly all formal allegations against Hampshire Constabulary officers resulted in no misconduct action last year. Of the 1,938 allegations made and considered formally, 1,867 (96 per cent) resulted in no action being required against the police officers involved."

So you can see that is not just "one bad apple". This is not to say that there are not good officers. There are. But trust is undermined when there are high numbers of high profile cases when trust was already low before the Pandemic. And the numbers are too high, surely?

PCC Does Not Answer Most of Our Questions

Ms Jones failed to answer most of our questions on behalf of the public, preferring to throw the questions over the fence to Hampshire Constabulary. The full questions and answers (and non-answers) written by former Southampton councillor and now NCTJ-trained journalist Andrew Pope, via Southampton Independents, are below.

Former Southampton Councillor Andrew Pope

 

Is Donna Jones Making Hampshire Safer?

Ms Jones was elected in May 2021 to the role of PCC. Her election promises (see image above taken from her own campaign website) were made under the headline "My Plan to make Hampshire & IOW Safer" and were:

1. 600 more police on the beat
2. An open and accountable force
3. Use new technology to combat rural crime
4. Community contact points throughout the county
5. Crack down on knife crime
6. Stop crime before it happens

Do you think that Ms Jones has kept her promises?

What do you think of the Police?

Do you think trust in the Police has gone down, up or stayed the same?

Get in touch to let us know your views - contact details are here.

 

Questions to Donna Jones from Southampton Independents

"1. How can the public trust Hampshire Police, and give consent to the Police, when so many Police themselves clearly cannot be trusted?

I believe police officers can & should be trusted and we have thousands of police officers & staff who uphold the highest of standards. Trust & confidence in the MET police has been damaged following recent high profile national cases concerning the conduct of police officers, however I have not seen a dip in trust & confidence of local officers in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight Constabulary.

 

2. What have you done to regain trust of the public in the Police and what evidence do you have that your measures have actually increased trust?

I haven’t seen a need to regain trust as there hasn’t been a decline in trust & confidence in the police force here in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.

 

3. Why is the number of officers under investigation so high?

Please contact Hampshire & Isle of Wight Constabulary for this information in relation to their staff.

 

4. How many officers have been formally disciplined since you became PCC? And why?

Please contact Hampshire & Isle of Wight Constabulary for this information in relation to their staff.

 

5. How many officers have been dismissed since you became PCC? And why?

Please contact Hampshire & Isle of Wight Constabulary for this information in relation to their staff.

 

6. Why and how is it that 96% of allegations resulted in no action, as reported by Ms Ferero?

Please contact Hampshire & Isle of Wight Constabulary for this information in relation to their staff."

 

Dangerous Motorbikes

Rogue motorbikes in Millbrook

Rogue motorbike riding illegally in Millbrook

Residents have been complaining for us for years about rogue motorbikes in Millbrook, Maybush, Lordshill and Redbridge.

Southampton Independents Councillor Andrew Pope says:

"Report them to 101, or via Crimestoppers.  

Police have confiscated bikes and raided houses when they have information from local residents.  

And I've told Tory head of Police Michael Lane (the elected Police and Crime Commissioner) he needs to ACT now. 

This has gone on for long enough. 

The Police need to be given the resources and equipment to get it sorted before more people get killed or injured, like they have in other parts of the country."

Theresa May Has Been Exposed

Reacting to the news that Theresa May has changed the Conservatives' plans for social care, within days of releasing them in their General Election Manifesto, Andrew Pope, our Candidate to be the next MP for Southampton Test, says:

"If you saw how badly Theresa May deals with reasonable questions from journalists on Monday, you can see how weak she is.

You can also see how incompetent she is, by changing a policy that had only just been released.

On their doorsteps and in Southampton's streets, we have asked many Southampton residents whether they can name a single thing Theresa May has achieved in seven years of Government.

Nobody could name a single thing.

That's because she hasn't achieved anything to benefit our Country.

One thing she has done is cut the Police, including the Armed Police that our Country needs to deal with terrorists.

And she has failed to deal with the mass immigration that Labour started.

And she has failed to deal with our country's deficit and the growing levels of Government debt.

Theresa May is not strong and stable.

She cannot handle being held to account. That is why her visit to Southampton was so quick and so carefully managed by the Conservative Party.

But Labour's Jeremy Corbyn is also too weak and incompetent to hold her to account.

Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn are BOTH weak and wobbly. What a Hobson's Choice!

People know whether it's Labour or Tory, they get the same old story.

They should vote for the person who would best represent them at Westminster.

That is why Southampton Test needs an Independent voice at Westminster, and why I ask them to please vote for me, their Southampton Independents Candidate, at the 8th June General Election."

Updated: Stop the Violence!

Above is the letter on the recent violence towards buses and taxis in Redbridge. It was printed in the Daily Echo on 27th September 2016.

The original text is below for your convenience:

"I am disappointed to hear of mindless violence from a tiny minority towards buses, taxis and people in the Redbridge ward of Southampton that I am proud to represent and live in.
This has happened before and with the community's help, we have dealt with it before.
I met with the bus companies and Police on Friday. 
I told them that I won't stand for a tiny minority ruining life for the majority of residents in our wonderful area. I told them that I would wholeheartedly assist to stop the culprits.
You should notice an increased Police presence in the area, and on buses. It is extremely important that residents work together with me as their local councillor, the bus companies and the Police. 
If you have any information, please tell Redbridge Independents via our Hampshire Red blog (http://hampshirered.blogspot.com), tell the Police on 101, or contact Crimestoppers at https://crimestoppers-uk.org/ or on 0800 555 111.
Thanks,Councillor Andrew PopeMillbrook, Redbridge and Maybush Independents"

Hampshire Police have posted this on their website.