Community Attitudes Survey

The Community Attitudes Survey (CAS) is a continuously run survey that provides an objective assessment of public perceptions and views on crime, law and order and policing issues over time. The survey was first commissioned in 1992 by the Criminal Justice Departments and Agencies and the Central Community Relations Unit, following an independent review of crime survey needs undertaken by the Northern Ireland Office.

Results for selected questions from the survey have been produced for each twelve month fieldwork period, November to October 1992/93 to 1997/98 and January to December 1999 to 2002. The data is routinely analysed and reported by religion, with the publications containing results for Catholic and Protestant respondents.

The questionnaires used for each year of the survey can be accessed in the questionnaire section of this website. These documents indicate those questions for which results are currently available.

Bulletins summarising the results for 2000, 2001 and 2002 can be accessed in the publications section of this website, along with the detailed tables for these years.

The 2002 survey was completed in January 2003 and a bulletin summarising the results was published in March 2003.

In November 2003 the CAS results were extended to include analysis by religion, age and gender for each question that has ever been asked in the Community Attitudes Survey. These trend tables are available in the results section.

Detailed tables for 2003 will be available shortly. The bulletin and rapid results tables for 2003 are available in the Publications section.