1. Police culture
Perceived tensions between blacks, police have grown; officers more worried about safety and more reluctant to use appropriate force
Embed
Attachment Info
- 1. Police culture
- White officers differ from blacks and Hispanics over when it’s appropriate to break department rules
- About six-in-ten officers say their work nearly always or often makes them feel proud
- Administrators about twice as likely as rank-and-file officers to have participated in a community event in the past month
- White and Hispanic officers, more than blacks, report being verbally abused by community members
- For many officers, being thanked and verbally abused are commonplace
- Male officers, whites more likely to have fired service weapon on duty
- Men, newer officers more likely to report violent encounters with resistant suspects
- Younger officers worry more often about their physical safety
- White officers less likely than other groups to say accountability a motive
- Race and rank linked to feelings about police work
- Do Americans understand the challenges police face on the job?
- Some officers say tough, aggressive tactics are needed with some people in some neighborhoods
- Most officers say protests mainly motivated by bias toward police
- Most white, Latino officers say fatal encounters between blacks and police are isolated incidents; majority of black officers disagree
- Impact of fatal incidents involving blacks felt more by large departments than by small agencies
- Roughly two-thirds of officers say they favor the use of body cameras
- About half say disciplinary process in their department is fair
- Most officers say their department has too few officers to police the community
- Majority of full-time officers are in agencies with at least 100 officers
- White officers more likely than black officers to have had a physical altercation with a suspect
- The dual nature of police work: For officers, emotions and experiences are often in conflict
- Police, public divided by race over whether attaining equality requires more changes
- Majority of police say fatal police-black encounters are isolated incidents; majority of the public says they point to a bigger problem
- Officers say fatal encounters between police and blacks have made policing harder
- White officers differ from blacks and Hispanics over when it’s appropriate to break department rules
- Race and rank linked to feelings about police work
- About six-in-ten officers say their work nearly always or often makes them feel proud
- Administrators about twice as likely as rank-and-file officers to have participated in a community event in the past month
- White and Hispanic officers, more than blacks, report being verbally abused by community members
- For many officers, being thanked and verbally abused are commonplace
- Most police say the public doesn’t understand the risks they face
- Male officers, whites more likely to have fired service weapon on duty
- Men, newer officers more likely to report violent encounters with resistant suspects
- Younger officers worry more often about their physical safety
- About six-in-ten police officers see themselves as protectors and enforcers
- About four-in-ten officers say they are formally or informally expected to meet a certain number of arrests or tickets
- Most officers favor a requirement to intervene when another officer is about to use unnecessary force
- More police worry their fellow officers will not act quickly enough than worry they will act too quickly
- About a third of officers say, when put to the test, use-of-force guidelines in their department are very useful
- Officers in larger departments are more likely to say their use-of-force guidelines are too restrictive
- Officers in large agencies less likely to say their department has trained and equipped them very well
- About four-in-ten officers say their department has done very well in training them adequately for their job
- Most officers say their department has too few officers to police the community
- Officers in smaller agencies more likely to agree that their agency’s disciplinary process is fair
- For minor mistakes, more officers today agree coaching is used vs. punishment
- Officers’ assessments of key aspects of the disciplinary process are mixed
- For assignments and promotions, about four-in-ten female officers say men are treated better than women
- In 2013, racial and ethnic minorities accounted for about a quarter of the police force and women made up about one-in-eight police officers
- About half of black officers say whites are treated better than minorities in assignments and promotions
- PSDT_01.11.17.police 02 14
1615 L St. NW, Suite 800
Washington, DC 20036
USA
(+1) 202-419-4300 | Main
(+1) 202-857-8562 | Fax
(+1) 202-419-4372 | Media Inquiries
Research Topics
ABOUT PEW RESEARCH CENTER Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan fact tank that informs the public about the issues, attitudes and trends shaping the world. It conducts public opinion polling, demographic research, media content analysis and other empirical social science research. Pew Research Center does not take policy positions. It is a subsidiary of The Pew Charitable Trusts.
Copyright 2024 Pew Research Center