Less than half of residents believe South Yorkshire Police doing 'good or excellent job', deputy mayor says

Less than half of residents believe South Yorkshire Police is doing a “good or an excellent job”, statistics reveal.

The figure was shared at a meeting of the South Yorkshire Police and Crime Panel on June 22, 2026, but the deputy mayor of South Yorkshire for crime and policing, Kilvinder Vigurs.

Ms Vigurs said: “Less than 47 per cent of people believe South Yorkshire Police is doing a good or an excellent job.

“This reinforces the importance of the continued focus on transparency, scrutiny and tackling the issues that matter most to our communities.”

It means South Yorkshire Police (SYP)’s 46.8 per cent approval rating is lower than the national average for other forces across the country.

Ms Vigurs, whose role was created after the powers of South Yorkshire’s Police and Crime Commissioner was absorbed into the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA), said “engagement and visibility” was part of the solution.

When asked by panel member Councillor Karl Hughes, from the City of Doncaster Council, the deputy mayor listed a number of measures South Yorkshire Police would be taking to improve public confidence in itself.

She said the force now had the officer numbers for improved neighbourhood policing; an e-bikes strategy trialled in Barnsley would be “cascaded” down to other boroughs; and residents will see improved work in the night time economy.

Ms Vigurs said she’d spent some time with plain clothes and uniformed police officers in Sheffield patrolling the city streets on the late shift and was pleased with the work she saw.

She said plain clothes officers successfully prevented “predatory behaviour” and kept people safe – adding their work is often “hidden because they are in plain clothes”.

“However, unfortunately, only two nights later, we heard of the tragic death of Shanice Brookes who was shot as an innocent bystander enjoying an evening out,” she said.

“Whilst I know significant work has been undertaken by SYP to reduce the availability and number of discharges, this tragedy rightly shocked us all and reminds us more needs to be done.”

A spokesperson for South Yorkshire Police said: “We aim to deliver an excellent police service to our communities, but we know public perception is influenced by a wide variety of factors.

“These figures, from the Crime Survey of England and Wales – published in January, show that 62.8% of the public are confident in South Yorkshire Police and 46.8% believe the force does a good or excellent job.

“While there is some positive data, we recognise that there will always be more to do and we work closely with communities to prioritise the things that matter most to them.”