Our Palestine PCP team deliver the first ever comprehensive public perception survey of the Palestinian Civil Police

The survey report will help the PCP to understand and build on their strengths as a successful young police force, and help international assistance donors to identify priority areas for future development assistance.
03.06.2015

Between June and July 2014, the Human Dynamics Technical Assistance Team for the project TA Programme for the Palestinian Civil Police (PCP) in the Occupied Palestinian Territories conducted the first ever comprehensive public perception survey of the performance of the Palestinian Civil Police.

The survey forms part of ongoing efforts to gauge the PCP’s organisational capacity development as well as to evaluate the impact of effort made by various donors. The survey report, Public Perceptions of Palestinian Civil Police Performance (published in May 2015), ultimately provides a baseline assessment of services provided by the PCP as perceived and experienced by Palestinian citizens, against which future changes in PCP performance can be measured. As such, the report will help the PCP to understand and build on their strengths and gain confidence as a successful young police force. While the report identifies areas where improvements can be made, it identifies priority areas for future development assistance that can inform international assistance donors.

A total of 4209 households from across the West Bank were interviewed on a range of issues and the data was disaggregated for analysis. Broadly, the following themes were covered:

  • Contact with the PCP
  • Satisfaction with PCP services
  • Trust and confidence in the PCP
  • Complaints
  • Future prospects.

The findings suggest that, generally and despite multiple challenges, Palestinian citizens are satisfied with service provision. Eight out of ten Palestinians (80%) still feel safe even at night. Feelings of safety are linked to the ability of residents to access police services, implying a significant degree of public trust and confidence in the PCP. More Palestinians feel that crime and disorder in their communities has diminished over the past year rather than increased, and the majority of the respondents feel that PCP service delivery overall has improved over the last three years. A significant majority of respondents feel that the PCP does an excellent job in responding their needs of their communities.

These and other indicators provided by the report provide a sound basis for future development of services.

The report is the product of a partnership between the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP/PAPP), the Office of the European Union Representative as represented by the Human Dynamics TAT, and the EU Police Mission for the Palestinian Territories (EUPOL COPPS), with the full engagement of the Palestinian Civil Police (PCP) and the Palestinian Central Bureau for Statistics (PCBS) which conducted the survey itself in the summer of 2014, Arab World Research and Development’ (AWRAD) in Ramallah and excellent cooperation from the PCP themselves.

It is anticipated that the survey will be repeated in the coming years, at which time further progress can be measured and recorded supported possibly by UNDP and EUPOL COPPS.

While the UNOCD has conducted a survey of Afghan police forces, and the UAE are now engaged in much work in this area, the report represents the most comprehensive public perception survey ever undertaken of any Arab police force.

I am proud that we were able to produce this survey. I feel it does represent a huge achievement for the PCP — as well as for us, Human Dynamics, as a company.

— Elizabeth Wright, Project Manager