Surveys conducted in Armenia at the request of the OSCE show that citizens have a relatively high level of trust in the police.
The results of the 2026 study on public perceptions of the police and police reforms in Armenia show that 52.8% of respondents fully or mostly trust the police, 21.8% rated their level of trust as moderate, while 21.2% said they do not trust the police.
A total of 54.3% of respondents fully or mostly trust the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
66.6% agreed that the police respond quickly to emergency calls, while 61.6% believe that the police treat citizens fairly and respectfully.
The majority of respondents—65.4%—are satisfied to some extent with police effectiveness in ensuring road safety, 62% with ensuring public safety, and 58.3% with maintaining public order during public gatherings.
The lowest level of satisfaction was recorded in relation to police effectiveness in responding to drug-related illegal activities.
Assessing changes in police work, more than half of respondents (54.4%) said they had noticed improvements in police performance.
Within the 2026 study, 48% of respondents agreed that there should be more female police officers in the system.
Kate Fearon, Director of the OSCE Conflict Prevention Centre and Deputy Head of the OSCE Secretariat, said the surveys are extremely important for the OSCE.
“It is an important tool for ensuring accountability and developing future policy. The results of the survey show commitment and work in this field. The OSCE is committed to the reform agenda, and we are ready to support the Ministry of Internal Affairs in further actions,” she said at a press conference.
Minister of Internal Affairs Arpine Sargsyan said that there has been a significant improvement in trust toward the police across many indicators.
“I am glad that we have an increase in trust toward the Ministry of Internal Affairs, because we often discuss that within the framework of reforms it is challenging for us to ensure proper division of roles and shape accurate public perception regarding the ministry and its subordinate bodies. It is very important that our public has begun to better understand the functions of the ministry,” the minister said.
The surveys were conducted at the request of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) by the independent research organization R-Insights. A total of 1,812 respondents from Yerevan and the regions participated in the survey via mobile phone interviews.
Published by Armenpress, original at
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