Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
Read our research on:
3. Police and the community
Most officers say the public respects them, few feel distrustful of most people
Embed
Infographic Gallery
- 3. Police and the community
- Increased sense of callousness associated with involvement in confrontations
- Increased sense of callousness linked to officers’ views on aggressive tactics, negative feelings toward job
- Younger officers, whites likelier to become more callous since joining department
- Majority of officers say they have become more callous since taking the job
- Younger, lower-ranking officers more likely to favor aggressive and hard, physical approaches
- Some officers say tough, aggressive tactics are needed with some people and in some neighborhoods
- Black officers far less positive about local police-minority relations than white or Hispanic officers
- Younger rank-and-file officers less likely to say the people in the neighborhoods where they work share their values
- Most officers say police need to know the community to be effective
- Most officers say the public respects them, few feel distrustful of most people
- About half or more officers say police have positive relations with the racial, ethnic groups in their communities