A majority of the U.S. public supports many policing reform measures, according to an Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research (AP-NORC) report published June 23.
Seven out of 10 possible policing reforms polled by AP-NORC are strongly or somewhat favored by a majority of adults:
- Requiring on-duty police officers to wear video cameras that would record their interactions with the public as they occur: 88%
- Requiring officers to report misconduct by their peers: 87%
- Establishing clear standards for the use of force by police officers: 86%
- Prosecuting police officers who use excessive force: 84%
- Penalizing officers for racially biased policing: 82%
- Requiring all police officers to participate in more extensive racial bias training: 80%
- Penalizing police supervisors for racially biased policing by their subordinate officers: 69%
Responses were mixed for the remaining three reforms surveyed:
- Limiting police use of military equipment: 50%
- Reducing the criminal justice system’s focus on policing and prosecuting low-level offenses: 46%
- Reducing funding for law enforcement agencies: 25%
White and Black support for these possible reforms was fairly similar, but notable differences emerged when respondents were asked about encounters with police.
Blacks (51%) were far more likely than whites (6%) to say they had been treated unfairly by police. Overall, 16% of respondents reported unfair treatment.
A similar pattern emerged when polling about whether “police in most communities are more likely to use deadly force against a black person, or more likely to use it against a white person, or don’t you think race affects police use of deadly force.”
Ninety-two percent of Black respondents said deadly force by police was more likely against a Black person, compared to 54% of white respondents. While 43% of whites said race doesn’t affect policing, only 4% of Blacks agreed with this view.
A strong majority (83%) of Blacks also affirmed that “police violence against the public in the United States is a very serious / extremely serious problem,” while only 39% of whites did so.
The full report is available here. The topline results are available here.
Reflection and resources at the intersection of faith and culture through an inclusive Christian lens.
