More than 70 percent of Serbians have little or no trust in their police force, while 41.7 percent of respondents believe that the police mainly serve the interests of political parties, show the results of a survey conducted by the “Dr Rodolphe Archibald Reiss” Police Association.

The survey reveals that only 6.1 percent of respondents trust the police, while nearly 72 percent believe that politicians have full control over operations of the police force.

“The respondents expressed concerns over political influence, corruption and insufficient presence of police officers on the ground, while a considerable portion of respondents believes that communication between the police and the public during crisis situation is not satisfactory,” the Association said.

According to the survey results, 37.8 percent of citizens believe that the police primarily protect the interests of the Serbian Government, while 9.4 percent of those surveyed think that the police only protect the interest of their top officials.

Regarding the professional conduct of the police force, 55.6 percent of respondents said the police act professionally only at times.

The survey also shows that corruption is perceived as a major problem among police officers by as many as 74.7 percent of respondents, while 67.4 percent assess cooperation between the police force and citizens as poor or very poor.

The poll was conducted on a representative sample of people of different gender, age group and educational level, said the “Dr Rodolphe Archibald Reiss” Police Association.