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Graphic Truth: In police we trust?
Cops worldwide have come under intense scrutiny over the use of police violence, exacerbating a decline in public trust. This made us wonder: How do our men and women in blue fare compared to the rest of the G7 when it comes to public confidence? The answer: not well.
IPSOS’s annual Global Trustworthiness Index asks this very question to tens of thousands of adults across 31 countries, rating their trust in police on a scale of 1-5.
It found that since the end of the pandemic, trust has been on the decline. In the US, UK, Canada, Italy, and France, civilian trust in their police has dropped by at least 5% since 2019 due to alleged police misconduct, use of excessive force, and systemic racism.
The US and UK have seen the largest deterioration in trust, as accusations of institutional racism, homophobia, and misogyny stack up amid a string of high-profile incidents of police violence – such as the murders of George Floyd and Sarah Everard.
Not all trust is lost. Some countries, like Germany, are working very hard to rebuild trust – Deutschland recently established its first independent federal police commissioner focused on addressing police misconduct and discrimination.
A U.S. force aircraft arrives with contractors to build a base for a Kenyan-led international security force aimed at countering gang violence, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti May 11, 2024.
Will international aid stabilize Haiti?
Gang violence continues to escalate in Haiti, prompting calls for the dismissal and arrest of the country's National Police Director Frantz Elbé. In the words of Garry Jean-Baptiste, a police union spokesperson, “Monsieur Elbé has failed.” Jean-Baptiste accuses the chief of incompetence and complicity with gangs, noting that 30 police stations have been attacked and burned in recent months.
In the US, representatives of 2.5 million voters of Haitian descent are calling on Washington to grant Temporary Protected Status to Haitian migrants already in the US.
While TPS is complicated by the Biden administration’s attempts to tighten migration policy, last Friday the US began sending $300 million worth of resources and civilian contractors to support a UN-authorized, multinational security force, to be led by 1,000 Kenyan police officers. The goal is to bolster Haiti’s outmatched police force, restore order, and avert a humanitarian disaster. Nearly one and a half million Haitians are on the verge of famine, and many are fleeing to the neighboring Dominican Republic.
In anticipation of the inflow of international assistance, Haiti’s transitional council restructured itself to rotate leadership among four veteran politicians every five months and altered its majority decision requirement. The hope is that this will stabilize decision making and enable the country to hold elections by February 2026.Jailed Hong Kong democracy leader Joshua Wong arrested for 'subversion': police source
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