FSD3205 Police Barometer 2016

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Study title

Police Barometer 2016

Dataset ID Number

FSD3205

Persistent identifier

urn:nbn:fi:fsd:T-FSD3205

Data Type

Quantitative

Authors

  • Ministry of the Interior. Police Department
  • Vuorensyrjä, Matti (Police University College)
  • Fagerlund, Monica (Police University College)

Abstract

The survey studied Finnish public opinion on the role and services of the police, feelings about safety and security, fear of crime, experiences of crime, and trust in the national institutions in crime prevention.

First, the respondents were asked how important certain bodies (e.g. the Church, the Customs, schools, the Defence Forces) were to crime prevention and to improving the safety of their neighbourhood. Opinions on the extent to which the police force can prevent civil disorder and maintain safety were charted as well as whether the respondents had experiences of international crime.

The respondents were asked how important certain things were in terms of maintaining public order and safety by the police, for instance, that the employment situation would improve, people suffering from substance abuse would receive treatment, prostitution would be prohibited and that the police would adopt zero-tolerance towards law-breaking. Views were probed on which tasks of the police were important. One theme examined the ways and means of improving road safety.

Sense of security and fear of crime were studied by asking how worried the respondents were about certain things (e.g. assaults, housebreaking, drink driving, sexual harassment, Internet data security). Some questions focused on how safe the respondents felt at home during the day, in the city centre after dark, in their neighbourhood late at night, etc. The respondents were asked whether they themselves had become victims of certain crimes, whether they had notified the police, and if not, why. Further questions surveyed whether the respondents had been eyewitnesses to any crimes (e.g. burglaries or car theft) or witnesses/complainants in a criminal procedure, and whether they had experienced a threat or pressure from somebody subjected to a criminal procedure. In addition, measures taken by the respondents to reduce the risk of crime (e.g. using a security alarm system or avoiding the city centre after dark) were charted.

Opinions on the accessibility and visibility of the police were examined by asking what the distance was from the respondent's home to the nearest police station, how long they thought it would take for the police to respond to an emergency, and whether the respondents had used the online services of the police. The quality of police services were assessed with questions about the last time the respondents had contacted the police, reasons for doing so, and how they had been treated. The respondents also rated how well the police had succeeded in solving crimes, preventing crime, providing help quickly, etc.

Opinions on the attitude of the police towards people from different ethnic backgrounds were studied. The survey also charted opinions on the development of the services provided by the police as well as trust in various institutions, such as the police, emergency and protective services, private security guards, the Border Guard, courts, the Customs, and the Defence Forces. Opinions on the likelihood of police corruption were surveyed. In conclusion, the respondents were asked how long they had lived in their municipality of residence, how often they travelled abroad, and what means of transport they used in the population centre of their municipality and other municipalities in the evening or at night.

Background variables included, for instance, the respondent's gender, age group, economic activity and occupational status, level of education, mother tongue, Internet use, household composition, number of children living in the household, gross annual household income, type of neighbourhood, and municipality and region (NUTS2 and NUTS3) of residence.

Keywords

crime and security; crime prevention; crime victims; fear of crime; law enforcement; offences; personal safety; police services; police-community relationship; policing; road safety; transport safety; trust; witnesses

Topic Classification

Series

Police Barometers

Distributor

Finnish Social Science Data Archive

Access

The dataset is (B) available for research, teaching and study.

Data Collector

  • Taloustutkimus

Time Period Covered

2016

Collection Dates

2016-05-02 – 2016-05-25

Nation

Finland

Geographical Coverage

Finland

Analysis/Observation Unit Type

Individual

Universe

People aged 15 - 79 living in Finland (excluding the Åland Islands)

Time Method

Longitudinal: Trend/Repeated cross-section

Sampling Procedure

Non-probability: Quota

Quota sampling based on the age, gender, region, and municipality size distributions of the target population. Interviews were conducted in 102 municipalities, of which 55 were cities and 47 other municipalities. The sample was weighted to be representative of the target population. The number of unweighted observations was 1,007. The number of weighted observations is 4,275, and the weighted sample represents Finland's population aged 15 - 79 (approx. 4,275,000 according to Official Statistics of Finland 31 December 2015).

Collection Mode

Face-to-face interview

Research Instrument

Structured questionnaire

Data File Language

Downloaded data package may contain different language versions of the same files.

The data files of this dataset are available in the following languages: English and Finnish.

FSD translates quantitative data into English on request, free of charge. More information on ordering data translation.

Number of Cases and Variables

293 variables and 1007 cases.

Data Version

1.0

Weighting

The data include a weight variable that weights the sample to correspond to the target population.

Citation Requirement

The data and its creators shall be cited in all publications and presentations for which the data have been used. The bibliographic citation may be in the form suggested by the archive or in the form required by the publication.

Bibliographical Citation

Ministry of the Interior & Vuorensyrjä, Matti (Police University College) & Fagerlund, Monica (Police University College): Police Barometer 2016 [dataset]. Version 1.0 (2018-02-02). Finnish Social Science Data Archive [distributor]. https://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:fsd:T-FSD3205

Deposit Requirement

Notify FSD of all publications where you have used the data by sending the citation information to user-services.fsd@tuni.fi.

Disclaimer

The original data creators and the archive bear no responsibility for any results or interpretations arising from the reuse of the data.

Related Materials

Poliisibarometri 2016. Kansalaisten käsitykset poliisin toiminnasta ja sisäisen turvallisuuden tilasta. Helsinki: Sisäministeriö. Sisäministerion julkaisu 27/2016. Sisäinen turvallisuus.

Related Publications Tooltip

Vuorensyrjä, Matti & Fagerlund, Monica (2016). Poliisibarometri 2016. Kansalaisten käsitykset poliisin toiminnasta ja sisäisen turvallisuuden tilasta [verkkodokumentti]. Helsinki: Sisäministeriö. Sisäinen turvallisuus. Sisäministeriön julkaisu 27/2016. http://www.intermin.fi/julkaisu/272016 [viitattu 10.10.2016]

Vuorensyrjä, M. 2018. Police Management Reform, Labor Productivity, and Citizens' Evaluation of Police Services. Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies & Management.

Vuorensyrjä, Matti & Fagerlund, Monica (2018). Poliisibarometri 2018. Kansalaisten arviot poliisin toiminnasta ja Suomen sisäisen turvallisuuden tilasta. Raportteja 130. Poliisiammattikorkeakoulu, Tampere. http://urn.fi/URN:ISBN:978-951-815-344-6.

Sipponen, Samuli (2018) "Ei niitä kuitenkaan täällä näy" Koettu turvallisuus Suomen maaseudulla 2012-2016 ja poliisin säästötoimenpiteet. Kandidaatintutkielma. Jyväskylän yliopisto

Kujala, Pietari. (2021). Gendered feelings of unsafety and avoidance of local central areas in Finland 2001-2016. Nordic Journal of Criminology, 1-21. https://doi.org/10.1080/2578983X.2021.1950466

Vuorensyrjä, Matti & Rauta, Jenita (2020). Poliisibarometri 2020. Kansalaisten arviot poliisin toiminnasta ja Suomen sisäisen turvallisuuden tilasta. Helsinki: Sisäministeriö. Sisäinen turvallisuus. Sisäministeriön julkaisuja 2020:12. http://urn.fi/URN:ISBN:978-952-324-641-6

Vuorensyrjä, Matti & Fagerlund, Monica (2018). Poliisibarometri 2018. Kansalaisten arviot poliisin toiminnasta ja Suomen sisäisen turvallisuuden tilasta. Tampere: Poliisiammattikorkeakoulu. Poliisiammattikorkeakoulun raportteja 130. https://urn.fi/URN:ISBN:978-951-815-344-6

Vuorensyrjä, Matti, Rauta, Jenita & Kankaanranta Terhi (2023). Todistajien uhkailu rikosprosessissa: merkkejä järjestäytyneestä rikollisuudesta? Teoksessa Vuorensyrjä, M. (toim.), Siniset klassikot. Poliisi- ja kriminologian alan moderneja klassikkotutkimuksia 2 (ss. 116-155). Poliisiammattikorkeakoulun tutkimuksia 47. Poliisiammattikorkeakoulu, Tampere.

Study description in machine readable DDI-C 2.5 format

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