GARDAÍ HAVE CLAIMED that 92% of the public have a mid-to-high level of trust in the force despite frequent controversies.

The research, conducted by independent survey company Amárach on behalf of An Garda Síochána, is nationally representative meaning that people from different areas and of different means are asked to respond.

The first three months of this year saw the force embroiled in the breath-test scandal where gardaí admitted that nearly a million tests recorded on the Pulse system never actually happened.

However, this admission came at the end of March just as researchers were finishing asking 1,500 people what they made of gardaí.

Head of the Garda Analysis Service, Dr Gurchand Singh, said that if you look at the statistics, it would appear that any fallout from the breath-test scandal would most likely be seen in next quarter’s stats.

Speaking to TheJournal.ie, Singh said: “When this got into the public consciousness, it would have been in the latter part of March. We’re thinking now that if there was going to be a reaction due to the breath tests, then it would impact in quarter two.”

Other results included:

74% said they were either very satisfied or satisfied with the service provided by gardaí – up 12%.

or with the service provided by gardaí – up 12%. 67% reported that their fear of crime had no impact on their quality of life – a 10% increase from Q1 in 2016.

21% of respondents considered crime in their local area to be a very serious or serious problem. This is compared to 27% in the same period last year.

Around 60% of people thought the organisation was modern or progressive , 55% said it was effective in tackling crime while 43% said it was well-managed.

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Singh added that the trust in Garda management does not specifically mean confidence in the Commissioner or her assistants.

Instead, Singh added that this level of satisfaction can be linked to those in local divisions who would be seen by the public as management.

Deputy Commissioner of Policing and Security John Twomey welcomed the statistics.

He said: “The reduction in the number of people who reported their crime to gardaí and the improvement in satisfaction with the service we provided to victims shows the importance of our strong focus on tackling key crimes and on the victims of crime.”