Citizens’ Assessment of Protection Level of Legally Protected Values: Dynamics of 2018–2023

In accordance with Federal Law “On state control (supervision) and municipal control in the Russian Federation”, state control (supervision) and municipal control should be aimed at minimizing state-controlled risks of harm or damage to values protected by law. An important indicator of minimizing these risks and the harm (damage) they cause can be the assessment by citizens of the level of protection of significant values that are protected by law, such as life, health of citizens and their relatives, property, personal data, environment, historical monuments, culture, and more. This article examines the dynamics of citizens’ assessments of the level of protection of values protected by law from 10 state-controlled types of such risks (criminal actions, unsafe food and catering services, substandard non-food goods and services, etc.). The empirical data for this study are based on the results of representative the all-Russian sociological surveys conducted annually by the RANEPA from 2018 to 2023, evaluating the effectiveness of state regulatory enforcement activity. The survey results demonstrate positive trends in citizens’ assessments: the overall level of protection of values protected by law from various risks increased from 30.0% in 2018 to 39.3% in 2023. However, the most challenging situation arises in the field of financial services and personal data, where the level of protection from these risks has decreased during the observation period. The research findings indicate that citizens’ assessments of the level of protection of values protected by law depend to a great extent on the following factors: the level of trust in control and supervisory bodies, personal experience of encountering risks associated with threats to these values, and whether the respondents have sought assistance from control and supervisory bodies to protect these values and the outcome of such requests. The data from the sociological surveys conducted in 2022–2023 demonstrate that the fact of seeking assistance from control and supervisory bodies increases the overall level of citizens’ assessments of the protection of values protected by law, and improving the effectiveness of these requests is an important reserve for enhancing these assessments.

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