Periodic surveys of public attitudes toward the police since 1989 indicate that the mistrust and fear of the police engendered by the police role in the totalitarian state have gradually been replaced by a reliance upon and confidence in the police. This is reflected in the increased readiness of citizens to cooperate with the police to improve police effectiveness in suppressing crime. This change in public attitudes toward the police has been assisted by a purge of the police corps since 1989 and positive changes in the management of the Ministry of the Interior and of the police. Reliance upon the police has also been fueled by the public's perception that crime has become a serious menace to citizens and that it must be controlled by police action.