Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
Read our research on:
1. Police culture
Protectors or enforcers? Majority of officers, half of public say police are both
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- 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
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