Publication date:
A Northern Ireland Life and Times survey which monitors public perceptions of the Public Prosecution Service (PPS) has been published today.
The independent bulletin, entitled “Perceptions of the Public Prosecution Service”, provides information on levels of public awareness of the prosecuting authority for Northern Ireland, as well as public confidence in the fairness, effectiveness and independence of the organisation.
This is the sixth year that the Northern Ireland Life and Times (NILT) survey respondents were asked for their views in these key areas.
The survey was conducted over the period from 7 September 2023 to 14 January 2024.
Key findings
Results from the four questions asked in the 2023 survey were as follows:
- Of the respondents that were surveyed, 87.8% had heard of the PPS (2022: 88.8%).
- Just under half (45.8%) of all respondents were either very or fairly confident that the PPS is effective at prosecuting people accused of committing a crime (2022: 52.4%).
- Just under three fifths (56.1%) of all respondents were either very or fairly confident that the PPS provides a fair and impartial prosecution service (2022: 60.6%).
- Just over half (54.9%) of all respondents were either very or fairly confident that the PPS takes its prosecution decisions independently (2022: 60.1%).
ENDS
Notes to Editors
The Northern Ireland Life and Times (NILT) Survey was launched by the University of Ulster and Queen’s University of Belfast in the autumn of 1998. Its mission is to monitor the attitudes and behaviour of people in Northern Ireland annually to provide a time-series and a public record of how attitudes and behaviour develop on a wide range of social policy issues. The survey is run on a modular format and aims to provide a local resource for use by the general public and a data source for public and academic debate.
This is the sixth year that Northern Ireland Life and Times Survey respondents were asked for their views on the Public Prosecution Service. A total of four questions specific to the PPS were included to gauge the following:
- Public awareness of the PPS (Question 1);
- Public perceptions of the PPS’s fairness and impartiality (Question 3); and
- Public perceptions of the PPS’s independence (Question 4).
- Public perceptions of the PPS’s effectiveness in prosecuting people accused of committing a crime (Question 2);
Question 1 was asked of all respondents. Questions 2, 3 and 4 relate only to those respondents who had heard of the PPS (i.e. respondents who had answered ‘yes’ at (Question 1).
Detailed notes have been supplied, which provide an account of the technical aspects of the survey, including the origin of the sample, response rates and its representativeness (see ‘Technical Details of the 2023 Survey’ section of the bulletin). It should be noted that, as in previous surveys, this latest tranche of the survey has produced a relatively high proportion of people who answered ‘don’t know’ in response to the questions. These ‘don’t knows’ have been excluded from the main body of the report. As such, the focus of the bulletin is on those people who have offered an opinion regarding the PPS.
The information gathered via the survey is used by the PPS for a variety of purposes, such as informing the development of policy and assessing the effectiveness of the Service’s Communication and Outreach Strategies. Data in respect of the PPS’s effectiveness and its fairness and impartiality are also used as key performance indicators for the Service.
These are ‘Official Statistics’ as defined in Section 6 of the Statistics and Registration Services Act 2007. Statisticians from the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency are seconded to the PPS and are responsible for ensuring that the statistics produced comply with the Code of Practice for Official Statistics.
The bulletin may be viewed or downloaded on the Statistics and Research section of the PPS website. Any member of the public may comment on the report by contacting PPS as follows:
Policy and Information Unit
Public Prosecution Service
Belfast Chambers
93 Chichester Street
Belfast BT1 3JR
Tel: 02890 897100
Deaf / hard of hearing (SMS): 07795 675528
Email: info@ppsni.gov.uk
Website: www.ppsni.gov.uk
Media Enquiries please contact PPS Communications at PPSPressOffice@ppsni.gov.uk.