Lower Mainland Police Receive Public Commendation

Vancouver, BC -- A new Ipsos-Reid survey reveals that residents across the Lower Mainland hold their local police in very high regard. Nine-in-ten (86%) residents say they approve of the overall performance of their local or regional police. The ratings are a little lower, but still predominantly positive, when it comes to the specific performance of the top brass. Three-quarters (75%) of the public approves of the performance of their local police senior management and chief of police.

Lower Mainland police also get top grades when it comes to how they perform their duties. More than eight-in-ten (83%) residents think their local police are doing a good job at dealing with crime and safety issues. Nearly nine-in-ten (88%¹) residents think their local police are doing a good job at performing their duties in a professional and respectful manner.

The survey also finds that three-quarters (74%²) of Lower Mainland residents think incidents of police brutality, whether reported or unreported, are uncommon among their local or regional police. About one-quarter (23%) say incidents of police brutality are "very common" (5%) or "fairly common" (18%).

The reviews are also favourable for the Vancouver Police Department - just not as strong as for police forces in the rest of the Lower Mainland. Eight-in-ten (78%) City of Vancouver residents approve of the overall performance of their local police, while a weaker majority (62%) approves of the performance of the senior management and chief of police. Roughly eight-in-ten City of Vancouver residents think their local police are doing a good job at dealing with crime and safety issues (78%) and performing their duties in a professional and respectful manner (82%).

City of Vancouver residents are more likely than their counterparts in the rest of the Lower Mainland to think that incidents of police brutality are common (30%) among their local or regional police. Nevertheless, nearly seven-in-ten (68%) City of Vancouver residents think these incidents are uncommon.

These are the findings of an Ipsos-Reid telephone poll conducted June 8^th to 13^th, 2005 with a randomly selected sample of 973 adult Lower Mainland residents, including 300 City of Vancouver residents. The Lower Mainland results are considered accurate to within 1773.2 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, of what they would have been had the entire BC adult population been polled. The City of Vancouver results are considered accurate to within 1775.7 percentage points, 19 times out of 20. The margin of error will be larger other sub-groupings of the survey population. These data were statistically weighted to ensure the sample's regional and age/sex composition reflects that of the actual Lower Mainland population according to the 2001 Census.

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¹ 87% in an October 2003 Ipsos-Reid survey of 500 Lower Mainland residents.
² 26% "common" and 69% "uncommon" in an October 2003 Ipsos-Reid survey of 500 Lower Mainland residents.

For more information on this news release, please contact:
Kyle Braid
Vice-President
Ipsos-Reid Corporation
604-257-3200
[email protected]

Ipsos-Reid
Ipsos-Reid is Canada's market intelligence leader and the country's leading provider of public opinion research. With operations in eight cities, Ipsos-Reid employs more than 300 researcher professionals and support staff in Canada. The company has the biggest network of telephone call centres in Canada, as well as the largest pre-recruited household and on-line panels. Ipsos-Reid's Canadian marketing research and public affairs practices are staffed with seasoned research consultants with extensive industry-specific backgrounds, offering the premier suite of research vehicles in Canada--including the Ipsos Trend Report, the leading source of public opinion in the country--all of which provide clients with actionable and relevant information. Ipsos-Reid is an Ipsos company, a leading global survey-based market research group.

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