Trust In Police Decreases, Mistrust Increases

A new poll shows that as trust in the police has decreased, mistrust of them has also grown.

Kjarninn reports that, according to a new poll from Market and Media Research, public trust in the police has decreased by about 5% between last year and this one, from 80% to 75%. At the same time, mistrust has grown, from 8% to 11%.

Trust in the Directorate of Immigration remained relatively unchanged between this year and the last, but mistrust has grown, from 38% to 45%. It remains one public institution in Iceland that most Icelanders do not trust.

Where the court system is concerned, trust actually increased between the years, from 34% to 41% for the Supreme Court, and from 31% to 35% for the District Courts. However, Kjarninn points out that this poll was taken in October – before a recent gang rape acquittal sparked criticism and protest.

Mistrust in the police between the years may be connected to the clandestine purchase of Glocks and machine guns last year, which ignited much criticism and precipitated public pressure to return the guns to Norway, from whence they came.