Data published this week suggests a majority of NWT residents think police are doing a good job, but not to the same extent as southern Canadians.
That’s according to research made available by Statistics Canada Monday.
In 2014, 68 per cent of Canadians believed police were “doing a good job of treating people fairly” though residents weren’t as impressed in Canada’s three territories.
In the Northwest Territories, 58 per cent of residents felt police were doing a good job compared to 56 per cent in Nunavut and 53 per cent in Yukon.
Aboriginal people living in the territories were also less likely to say police were doing a good job compared to non-aboriginal residents.
According to Statistics Canada, there was virtually no difference in the perception of police performance between the three territories.
One notable exception however, was in the police’s ability to respond to calls promptly. In Yukon, 56 per cent of residents felt police were doing a good job in that area compared to the territorial average of 49 per cent.
Aboriginal people, victims of crime rate performance lower
Aboriginal people were considerably less likely than non-aboriginals to say police were doing a good job enforcing the laws (43 per cent versus 59 per cent) and promptly responding to calls (41 per cent versus 58 per cent).
Similarly, residents who reported being the victim of a crime were also less likely to say police were doing a good job in a number of areas.
In general, residents of the territories rated police performance less favourably than residents of the provinces.
While roughly 20 per cent of Northerners felt police were doing a poor job responding to calls and providing information on crime prevention, about 60 per cent said police were doing a good job of being approachable.
Statistics Canada says a number of factors were associated with perceptions of police performance, but that aboriginal identity and self-reported victimization remained the most significant predictors.
