Highlights
Approximately 70 to 89 percent of Black respondents provided positive ratings of law enforcement ranging from a willingness to contact police in the future to doing a good job to wanting police officers in their communities to 74 percent in fragile communities (regardless of race) who rate law enforcement favorably.
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The issues with cops and African Americans are complex and varied but the majority of the research indicates that most Black Americans support law enforcement, rate them highly, and want police officers in their communities.
A variety of data is presented below that spans recent years and can coincide with controversies over the police use of force. Those timelines should be taken into consideration. Police-African American relations (like all police-community issues) are going to ebb and flow depending on the context of events.
Per polls, African American relations with law enforcement will vary based on the respondent’s age, sex, political affiliation, income, place of residence plus other factors. Ratings of law enforcement for Whites and Hispanics are generally higher than those of Blacks but in some cases, not by much. Law enforcement is not the only institution in question. Roughly eight-in-ten Black adults say the political system (85%), economic system (83%) and health care system (79%) require major changes or need to be completely rebuilt for Black people to be treated fairly.
Considering the history of law enforcement and African Americans from slavery to Jim Crow laws enforcing segregation and what some consider heavy-handed enforcement policies, relations between cops and Black communities will be a concern for years to come.
As historians have made clear, there is no past; historical events affect every American. What happened decades (or centuries) ago impacts us today.
The percentage of police officers who are Black continues to rise along with African American leadership of justice agencies. The number and share of Black officers have increased by about 60% from 1987 to 2016.
Criminology 101 indicates that communities are principally responsible for crime suppression but that must be done with the support of law enforcement. Without a symbiotic relationship, crime control doesn’t work.
Some will be critical of this article. Many seem anxious to point fingers at others as being responsible for problems with violence. Writing about police relations with minority communities is not for the faint of heart which is why a data-driven approach is important.
Sending The Wrong Message?
This applies to any community. Cities and law enforcement must create a cohesive message to potential violent offenders that their activities will not be ignored. There are many within law enforcement (and some criminologists) suggesting that we have been sending the wrong message to violent offenders for years.
Are endless criticisms of law enforcement and a focus on reform telling the violent that they will probably get away with their crimes? Per the lack of arrests, especially for homicides, rapes, and aggravated assaults, violent offenders can see themselves as invulnerable. Nationally, arrests are falling quickly. Through the lack of proactive policing and resident assistance to solve crimes, violent offenders can believe that law enforcement has become powerless or far less powerful than they were before. If not caught and held responsible, the violent are emboldened and will continue to do harm.
Context-Current Issues With Crime
It’s the urban low-income African African communities that are being hit hardest by violence per an endless stream of data. Urban violence is damaging cities, prosperity, jobs, economic development, the mental health of children and residents, and school scores. Fear of crime is at an all-time high. Sociologists suggest that it takes decades for any community to overcome riots and protests (that cost over three billion dollars in insurance claims) resulting from police use of force issues. Stores are closing and companies are leaving high-crime communities throughout the United States.
Law enforcement is vital to the success of communities but cops are quitting by the tens of thousands per the Bureau of Labor Statistics and endless media reports. There are a multitude of cities where response time has plummeted. These cities have issued lists of crimes they no longer have the personpower to respond to.
Crime reporting may be taking a beating as victims are not willing to endlessly wait for the police to respond.
Proactive policing, the only modality with hundreds of methodologically correct and replicated research papers indicating success in lowering crime is being discarded because of the connection between aggressive policing and use of force issues. This issue alone may be the principal reason why violence in cities is rising. The rise in crime is often attributed to COVID but violence started to increase considerably in 2015 per the Bureau of Justice Statistics, long before the pandemic.
But at the moment, proactive policing is a moot point because many (most?) police officers refuse to engage in the practice because of perceived criticism of “all” in law enforcement, not just the miscreants involved in the questionable or illegal use of force.
Yes, there are research projects indicating a lack of trust between African Americans and cops. Yes, there is data documenting that African Americans believe that there is an inordinate amount of disrespect at the hands of law enforcement.
But concurrently, the overwhelming majority of the data indicates that the great majority of Americans, including most African Americans, feel that law enforcement officers are doing a good job. Cops remain one of the most respected professions in America, rating far better than most institutions.
There are media accounts of African American relations with law enforcement that are profoundly negative when the data says otherwise.
Estimates As To Police Killings Of Unarmed Black Men By Law Enforcement Routinely Wrong-The Skeptic
In a chart offered by The Skeptic, people (based on political affiliation) estimated the number of unarmed Black men killed by law enforcement in 2019. Estimates ranged from 100 to 1,000 to 10,000 to more than 10,000 with those claiming a liberal affiliation leading the way as to higher estimates. However, all groups including moderates to conservatives grossly exaggerated the numbers.
According to the Washington Post database, regarded by Nature magazine as the “most complete database,” 13 unarmed black men were fatally shot by police in 2019. According to a second database called “Mapping Police Violence”, compiled by data scientists and activists, 27 unarmed black men were killed by police (by any means) in 2019.
54 Million Contacts
Per the US Department of Justice, 88 percent reported that they were satisfied with their police response, with 93 percent saying they would be more or as likely to contact police again in the future.
Approximately 4% of residents experienced some type of police action during their most recent police-initiated or traffic accident-related contact, with 3% experiencing the threat or use of force. Overall use or threat of force (all encounters) or threat of force was 2 percent.
About 1% of U.S. residents experienced misconduct during their most recent contact with police.
White persons (89%) were the most likely racial or ethnic group to report being satisfied with the police response. A higher percentage of white persons (94%) said they would be more or as likely to contact police in the future than black persons (89%) or persons who are American Indian or Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, or of two or more races (87%).
We are constantly being told that police are overly aggressive when it comes to traffic stops and African Americans. Per the data, “White persons (63%) were as likely as black persons (62%) but less likely than Asian persons (65%) to be the driver in a traffic stop during their most recent police contact.”
This is the third replication of this USDOJ report with similar results.
Chart From Gallup:
Source
Additional Data
Summation: Approximately 70 to 89 percent of Black respondents provided positive ratings of law enforcement ranging from a willingness to contact police in the future to doing a good job to wanting police officers in their communities to 74 percent in fragile communities (regardless of race) who rate law enforcement favorably.
In the world of polling research, these are very high marks of approval. Getting Americans to rate any institution highly is rare.
Doing A Good Job
The overwhelming majority of police contacts, with differences based on demographics, indicate considerable satisfaction with interactions with law enforcement, consistent with previous research. A CBS News/YouGov poll found that 70% of “Black Americans” said that local police are doing a “very good” or “somewhat good” job. The poll results also indicated that 82% of “Whites” and 77% of “Hispanics” said police were doing a “very or somewhat good job.”
Gallup-Black Americans Want Cops In Their Communities
When asked whether they want the police to spend more time, the same amount of time or less time than they currently do in their area, most Black Americans — 61% — want the police presence to remain the same. This is similar to the 67% of all U.S. adults preferring the status quo, including 71% of White Americans. Meanwhile, nearly equal proportions of Black Americans say they would like the police to spend more time in their area (20%) as say they’d like them to spend less time there (19%), Gallup Center on Black Voices.
Gallup-Black Americans Lack Assurance Police Encounters Will Go Well
Although Black Americans seem about as comfortable as Americans overall with the amount of police presence where they live, they differ markedly in their perceptions of how their local police might treat them if they were to interact. Fewer than one in five Black Americans feel very confident that the police in their area would treat them with courtesy and respect. While similar to the 24% of Asian Americans saying the same, it is markedly lower than the 40% of Hispanic Americans and the 56% of White Americans who feel this way. This could either stem from Black Americans’ own negative experiences with the police or from their familiarity with people who have had negative encounters with law enforcement, Gallup.
70 Percent of Black Americans Support Law Enforcement
A CBS News/YouGov poll released this week found that 70% of “Black Americans” said that local police are doing a “very good” or “somewhat good” job. The poll results also indicated that 82% of “Whites” and 77% of “Hispanics” said police were doing a “very or somewhat good job.”
Trust in Law Enforcement-USA Today
Trust in local police and law enforcement has risen to 69%. Among Black respondents, trust in Black Lives Matter has fallen by 12 points and trust in local police has risen by 14 points. Among white respondents, trust in Black Lives Matter has fallen by 8 points and trust in local police has risen by 12 points. In the wake of the Jan. 6 assault on the Capitol by Trump supporters, the scales have tipped toward law enforcement. By double digits, 49%-31%, those surveyed say it is more important to ensure law and order, USA Today
Gallup-Fragile Communities Believe That Cops Are Fair
Even in fragile communities (i.e., high unemployment), a study finds that 74% of fragile-community residents vs. 87% of Americans overall think people like themselves are treated “very fairly” or “fairly” by their local police. The results vary by racial group: Black (65%) and Hispanic (72%) residents of fragile communities are considerably less likely than white residents (87%) to say people like themselves are treated fairly by police, Gallup.
Gallup-Fragile Communities Want More Cops
68% of Chicago’s “fragile community” (i.e., low-income) residents want a greater police presence. 54 percent of low-income communities nationally want more police officers, Fragile Communities.
Gallup-The Majority Of Americans Rate Police Encounters As Positive, Respectful and Fair
The data below was collected as nationwide protests took place after the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Seventy-five percent of respondents said that their police interaction was a positive experience including most Hispanic and Black individuals polled. Eighty-six percent of respondents said that they were treated with respect including most Hispanic and Black individuals polled. Eighty-nine percent of respondents said they were treated fairly including most Hispanic and Black individuals polled, Gallup.
Black Homicide Victims
There were 7,484 Black homicide victims in the US in 2019, Statista. 88.5 percent of Black victims are killed by non-police Black perpetrators, Reuters. 241 Blacks were killed by law enforcement in 2020 compared to 457 whites and 169 Hispanics, Statista.
Arrests Proportionate To Involvement In Crime
Some civil rights leaders insist that Blacks are overrepresented in arrests. As to overall arrests, per the US Department of Justice, “White and black people were arrested proportionate to their involvement in serious nonfatal violent crime overall and proportionate to their involvement in serious nonfatal violent crime reported to police,” USDOJ Data On Race And Crime.
Gallup-US And Canadian Police Are The World’s Most Trusted, Gallup’s Global Law and Order report state that US and Canadian police are the world’s most trusted law enforcement officers, Most Trusted.
Hill-Harris Poll, A plurality of voters said relations between the police and people of color have gotten worse in the past year, a new Hill-HarrisX poll finds. Forty-five percent of registered voters surveyed said relations between police and communities of color have regressed while 43 percent said they have stayed the same, Poll: Relationship Between Police and People of Color Worsened in Last Year
Conclusions
First, there isn’t a person in the justice system regardless of race or heritage who doesn’t acknowledge the history of minority relations with law enforcement or the larger justice system. All who work in the “system” comprehend the realities of race relations. It was a frequent discussion between myself (as director of public relations for national and state justice agencies) and my African American leadership.
The justice system tries its best through polygraphs and background investigations to pick people who are fair-minded and equitable. Every police academy in the country requires lessons on community relations. Every participant takes an oath to support the equal, fair, and judicious treatment of everyone regardless of who they are. But police recruitment is down considerably driven by immense negative publicity which hampers getting the best possible people. There are reports suggesting that underqualified individuals are taking the place of the officers leaving.
Yet policing requires directness and the use of force when necessary. The majority of those arrested are under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Many have mental health issues. Many are young and impulsive. There are a ton of firearms on our streets. Yet the use of force “or” the threat of force per multiple surveys is tiny, two percent of 54 million citizen encounters.
Cops who are not dedicated to equal and respectful treatment of everyone need to leave the profession. But the explosion of violence and firearms takes an immense toll on everyone. I know of very fair-minded cops who found the experience of big-city policing exhausting.
Distrust exists on both sides. Many people of color can provide examples of perceived mistreatment. Many in policing, regardless of race or heritage, are leaving law enforcement because they perceive a lack of trust in the communities they serve. This alone may be the reason why violence has skyrocketed in many urban communities. Community members need to understand that cops are not the military; there’s nothing keeping them in place. Yes, the discussion goes both ways.
But the bottom line is that the good majority of African American communities rate cops highly. They want law enforcement in their communities.
Concurrently, the good majority of police officers want to have a respectful relationship with everyone.
Yet critics of this article will be harsh. It’s better for some to wallow in their typecasts than seek common ground. All this results in compromised cities and the literal destruction of thousands of good people who simply want to live their lives in peace and safety.
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