Public confidence in NSW justice system lowest in a decade: lawyers weigh in

BOCSAR set out to analyse whether confidence in the NSW criminal justice system (CJS), police and courts had changed between 2012 and 2025 by conducting its fifth Public confidence in the criminal justice system survey. Of the 2,000 adults surveyed, half responded by telephone and half online.

Confidence levels, along with respondents’ perceptions of the appropriateness of court sentences, were measured, and public confidence in the NSW justice system indicates a flagging public attitude, lower on all five measures than survey analyses in 2019, 2014 and 2012. A decline in confidence in the police between 2019 and 2025 was significant, though in the same time period, confidence increased in the court sentences handed down.

Avinash Singh, Principal Lawyer at Astor Legal, says, “Public confidence is the bedrock of Australia’s criminal justice system. Without it, the rule of law weakens, compliance drops, and the authority of police and courts is undermined.”

This is because the criminal justice system relies entirely on voluntary public cooperation, he explains.

“Victims need to feel confidence in reporting crimes. Witnesses need to believe the system is fair if they are giving evidence. Accused persons need to believe that they will receive a fair trial. This can only be achieved when stakeholders and parties in the criminal justice system act with integrity and professionalism.”

Singh says, “As a criminal lawyer who is at the coalface of the criminal justice system, the most significant reason for the decline in public confidence in police stems from the ability of people to record interactions with police and police behaviour generally.”

Rhian Bartley, Director and Principal Lawyer, Bartley Legal, says, “I used to be a police officer. What the survey measures, I’ve watched from inside the job and from the other side of the interview table.”

People will accept a result they don’t like, she explains.

“What they don’t forgive is how they were spoken to, and whether they were believed. That’s the thing I hear most often, from clients and from complainants.”

The NSW Police Charter of Victims’ Rights includes a right to be told about the progress of the investigation. However, Bartley says, “My own experience is that it isn’t happening. Confidence that police meet victims’ needs fell from 70 per cent to 56 per cent between 2019 and 2025, the sharpest fall of any police measure.”

At the time of the survey last year, just over half of respondents were confident that the CJS brings people who commit crimes to justice. Many thought that the rights of the accused are respected and the accused are treated fairly; however, there was low confidence that the CJS meets the needs of victims and deals with cases promptly.

Talkback radio, social media, and word of mouth were associated with lower confidence levels. Notably, victims indicated lower confidence in the CJS across all measures except timely case resolution.

Singh thinks that the lack of trust in talkback radio and social media is likely due to a more educated public with more access to information.

“While large outlets still control mainstream media, there are far more ways for independent media outlets and individuals to reach the masses. This means that more information about prominent cases is disclosed, and the public are able to make their own minds up about where they stand.”

The BOCSAR report authors suggest “several significant events” between 2019 and 2025 may have shifted public sentiment, including police enforcement of COVID-19 restrictions, the increasingly critical media coverage of crime and policing, and pandemic-era economic disruptions.

Bartley says, “Social media and talkback don’t report the criminal justice system, they sample its worst moments. There’s no denominator. You hear about the one bail decision that ended badly, never the thousands that didn’t. Nobody posts the sentencing remarks. Nobody posts the matter withdrawn because the evidence didn’t hold up, which is the system working exactly as designed.”

The proof is in the same report, she believes.

“Respondents guessed that 53 of every 100 recorded crimes involve violence or the threat of it. The actual figure is nine. They underestimated the conviction rate for home burglary at 51 per cent against an actual 65, and the imprisonment rate at 40 against 58. That’s a public that thinks the system is both more violent and softer than it is, which is precisely the picture you’d form from a [social media] feed.”

Bartley emphasises that the survey makes an association, rather than definitively linking media to public perceptions.

“There’s an obvious chicken and egg problem. Losing faith in institutions may be what drives people to talkback in the first place. Also, the effect wasn’t uniform. Talkback and social media were associated with lower confidence on bringing offenders to justice and meeting victims’ needs, not on the fairness measures.”

Confidence in police

Among the survey’s findings was that confidence that police bring offenders to justice fell from 82 per cent in 2019, to 73 per cent in 2025. “Confidence in the police has declined across a range of measures,” BOCSAR’s Executive Director Jackie Fitzgerald said. “Possible local factors driving the decline include strained police-community relations during the COVID-19 pandemic, increased media scrutiny, and heightened public debate around issues such as youth crime and domestic violence. However, similar patterns observed internationally suggest this could also reflect a broader decline in trust in public institutions.”

Perceptions of rising crime remain widespread

Despite recorded trends not necessarily supporting this notion, the survey shows that perceptions of rising crime remain widespread. Half the respondents believed property crime increased over the past five years, though it significantly declined over this period.

“This gap between crime perceptions and reality is a consistent finding in our research,” said Fitzgerald. “It highlights that people’s views about crime and the criminal justice system are often shaped by a range of factors beyond recorded trends, including personal experience, media reporting and community concerns. Ensuring the community has access to accurate and accessible information is therefore critical to maintaining confidence in the system.”

Government points to reforms underway

Asked about the survey findings, a spokesperson for the NSW Attorney General said the Government had introduced and was continuing to pursue significant reforms to help build confidence in the justice system, particularly regarding outcomes for victim-survivors.

These reforms include abolishing the use of “good character” as a mitigating factor at sentencing and appointing the state’s first independent Victims of Crime Commissioner, who will advocate for the rights of victim-survivors and drive changes to improve their experience of the justice system.

The spokesperson said the Government had also commissioned research into protections for sexual assault complainants’ counselling records, and that work was continuing to establish a specialist hub to help vulnerable complainants in sexual assault and domestic and family violence matters give evidence remotely.

“The Government will continue looking at ways to better support complainants and bolster public confidence in the justice system,” the spokesperson said.

Lawyers have a responsibility to enhance public trust in the NSW justice system

Singh says, “I always keep at the forefront of my mind that lawyers are officers of the court. This means that a lawyer’s ultimate duty is to the Court, as is prescribed in Rule 3 of the Legal Profession Uniform Law Australian Solicitors’ Conduct Rules 2015.”

Public trust and confidence in lawyers are enhanced when we take this duty seriously, he explains.

“This means ensuring that we do not mislead the Court. This extends as far as informing the Court of any legislation or authority that is against our client’s case and not taking advantage of any inadvertent disclosures by our opponent. When the public sees or is made aware of these behaviours, public trust and confidence in the criminal justice system is bolstered.”

Bartley says, “Every day I ask people to do things that only make sense if they trust the system. Provide me with a full account. Comply with your bail conditions. Plead guilty early and take the discount. Tell the court the truth about what you did. If the person in front of me believes it’s all rigged, none of that advice lands and they make worse decisions for themselves.”

She adds, “My duty to the court comes before my duty to my client. That’s the deal and it only holds up if the public believes the court is worth that duty. A solicitor with a paramount duty to a system nobody respects is just a person following rules for their own sake.”

Header image credit: Henry Ea, LSJ Media