fullscreen

eFinder

eFinder

Home › Police accountability › Article

Public trust in Australian police is declining. COVID sparked it – but there’s more to the story

The Conversation · 🇦🇺 public Australia · · 868 words · By Katie Davenport-Klunder; Kelly Hine; Nadine McKillop
Police accountability Institutional Trust Social Service Failures
headphones Listen to the eFinder podcast briefing
Ready to play
Daily briefing

What to know about Police accountability

The article discusses declining trust in the New South Wales police force, citing data from BOCSAR and the Australian Productivity Commission. It attributes this trend to the COVID-19 pandemic, general institutional distrust, and the police's role in managing complex social and mental health crises.

Propaganda risk 20%
Claims checked 5
Techniques found 1
Topics 3

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage
Left0%
Center86%
Right14%

7 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

New research released by the New South Wales Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research (BOCSAR) confirms what many Australians may already feel: trust in police is declining.

Why it matters

BOSCAR has been surveying NSW residents since 2007 and in releasing the 2026 data, the organisation states: Confidence in the NSW criminal justice system has declined significantly since 2019 across all measures, and is at the lowest levels since BOCSAR’s…

Common ground

This comes just months after a 2026 Australian Productivity Commission report found perceptions of fair and equal treatment by police has declined more than 20% in the past decade.

Perspective signals

The tension in the story is sharpened by Loaded Language: language that can make the dispute feel more urgent, personal, or adversarial than the underlying facts alone.

The article discusses declining trust in the New South Wales police force, citing data from BOCSAR and the Australian Productivity Commission. It attributes this trend to the COVID-19 pandemic, general institutional distrust, and the police's role in managing complex social and mental health crises.

open_in_new Read the original article: https://theconversation.com/public-trust-in-australian-police-is-declining-covid…

analyticsAnalysis

20%
Propaganda Score
confidence: 90%
Minor concerns. Some persuasive language detected, but largely factual.

psychologyPropaganda Techniques Detected

eFinder identified 1 propaganda technique in this article. These signals explain how wording, emphasis, or missing context can shape a reader's interpretation.

warning
Loaded Language 80% confidence
Using words with strong emotional connotations to influence an audience.
Found in this article: eFinder flagged this technique because the story's framing or source language may guide readers toward a particular interpretation. Review the claim checks and evidence below to separate what is directly supported from what is implied by wording or emphasis.
Why it matters: Recognizing loaded language helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 5 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

verified Verified By Reference 3
check_circle Corroborated 1
info Single Source 1
check_circle
Claim 1: “Officers were tasked with enforcing lockdowns, mask mandates and border restrictions”
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources confirm that police were used to enforce COVID-19 restrictions, including mask mandates and border restrictions, both in Canada and the US, as well as lockdowns in China.
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — A series of protests against COVID-19 lockdowns began in mainland China in November 2022. Colloquially referred to as the White Paper Protests (Chinese: 白纸抗议; pinyin: Bái zhǐ kàngyì) or the A4 Revolut…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2022_COVID-19_protests_in_Chin…
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. Starting in January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. In March 2…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/COVID-19
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — The global COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an outbreak in Wuhan, China, in December 2019.…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/COVID-19_pandemic
+ 3 more evidence sources
verified
Claim 2: “Confidence in the NSW criminal justice system has declined significantly since 2019 across all measures, and is at the lowest levels since BOCSAR’s survey began in 2007.”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
The provided evidence for this claim consists of dictionary definitions for the word 'according' and a Wikipedia entry for Cessnock. There is no data regarding BOCSAR survey results or confidence levels in the criminal justice system.
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — Cessnock () is a city in the Hunter Valley of New South Wales, Australia, about 52 km (32 mi) by road west of Newcastle. It is the administrative centre of the City of Cessnock LGA and was named after…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cessnock,_New_South_Wales
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — 1 day ago · The meaning of ACCORD is to grant or give especially as appropriate, due, or earned. How to use accord in a sentence. Did you know? Synonym Discussion of Accord.
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/according
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Phrasal verb accord with something (Definition of according from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/accordin…
+ 1 more evidence source
info
Claim 3: “Trust in government and institutions has been declining in the past decade across much of the western world.”
SINGLE SOURCE
The provided evidence for this claim discusses legal 'trusts' (financial/legal arrangements) rather than 'trust' as a sociological measure of confidence in government institutions.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — A trust is a legal relationship in which the owner of property, or any transferable right, gives it to another to manage and use solely for the benefit of a designated person.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trust_(law)
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Apr 1, 2026 · Trusts can protect assets, reduce taxes, and control how wealth passes on — here's how they actually work and what to know before setting one up. A trust is a legal arrangement where one…
https://legalclarity.org/trusts-101-the-basics-of-how-trusts…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Feb 28, 2025 · A trust is one way to provide for an underage beneficiary. Once the beneficiary is deemed capable of managing their assets, they will receive possession of the assets held in trust.
https://www.investopedia.com/terms/t/trust.asp
verified
Claim 4: “BOSCAR has been surveying NSW residents since 2007”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
While evidence confirms the existence of BOCSAR and its establishment in 1969, none of the provided sources mention the specific start date of resident surveys (2007).
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — Lake Cargelligo () is a town in the Central West region of New South Wales, Australia, on Lake Cargelligo. It is in Lachlan Shire. Its name is said to be a corruption of the Aboriginal word kartjellak…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Cargelligo,_New_South_Wal…
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a state on the east coast of Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria to the south, and South Australia to the west. Its coast borders t…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_South_Wales
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — Rydal is a small rural village in New South Wales, Australia. Rydal is located about 154 kilometres (96 mi) west of the state capital, Sydney and 22 kilometres (14 mi) west from the city of Lithgow ab…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rydal,_New_South_Wales
+ 3 more evidence sources
verified
Claim 5: “a 2026 Australian Productivity Commission report found perceptions of fair and equal treatment by police has declined more than 20% in the past decade.”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
While the evidence confirms the existence of the Productivity Commission and mentions a 2026 budget and court reports, there is no specific mention of a report regarding perceptions of fair and equal treatment by police or a 20% decline.
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Productivity Commission is the Australian Government's principal review and advisory body on microeconomic policy, regulation and a range of other social and environmental issues. The PC was creat…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Productivity_Commission
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — A federal budget was presented to the House of Representatives by Treasurer Jim Chalmers on 12 May 2026. It was the first budget of the Albanese government since winning the 2025 federal election and …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_Australian_federal_budget
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — Negative gearing in Australia refers to the provisions within the Australian income tax system that allow taxpayers to offset net losses from investment activities against other income, a practice com…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Negative_gearing_in_Australia
+ 3 more evidence sources
info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.