Trust In Police Falling Among Young Icelanders

Confidence in the police is shifting among younger generations in Iceland.

A recent survey (.pdf) conducted by the Social Sciences Institute of the University of Iceland  for the Office of the National Commissioner of the Icelandic Police, has found that 59% of Icelanders aged between 18-25 have faith in the police force. This is a 20% drop from 2018 when 79% of responders in the same age group stated they had confidence in the police.

There is also a decline in trust among the demographic of those aged 26-35. In 2018, 86% of Icelanders in this age range noted having faith in the work of the police. Last year, that number was 83%. The 2021 survey found the current rate lies at 80% of those surveyed.

These differences not only exist along generational lines, but economic, educational and geographic lines as well. The most faith, 90-92%, was found among participants in the South, West and Westfjords while residents of the Westman Islands, Northwest and Greater Reykjavík areas showed the least confidence in police at 75-77%. Women also tend to find the work of police more satisfactory than men, at 87 versus 82%.

It seems that one impact on police satisfaction comes, unsurprisingly, from Covid-19 restrictions. Last year 89% of all citizens supported police action on the pandemic, most recently that number lies at 81%. Again, younger generations are showing the least trust in police in this area; 56% of 18-25 year olds, while 84.9-88% of those 36 years of age and older are in support.

Overall, the demographics of 18-25 and 26-25 have been steadily declining for the past four years, age groups between 36-65 have fluctuated to relatively small degrees and the eldest respondents, aged 66 and older maintain the strongest support of police at 90%, only dropping from 92% in 2018.

Note: Due to the effect the Coronavirus is having on tourism in Iceland, it’s become increasingly difficult for the Grapevine to survive. If you enjoy our content and want to help the Grapevine’s journalists do things like eat and pay rent, please consider joining our High Five Club.

You can also check out our shop, loaded with books, apparel and other cool merch, that you can buy and have delivered right to your door.

Also you can get regular news from Iceland—including the latest notifications on eruptions, as soon as they happen—by signing up to our newsletter.