Criminal Justice

Black Americans support significant reforms to or complete overhauls of several U.S. institutions to ensure fair treatment. Yet even as they assess inequality and ideas about progress, many are pessimistic about whether society and institutions will change in ways that would reduce racism.

Joe Biden’s federal judicial appointees so far include a record number of women and racial and ethnic minorities.

Black Americans are critical of key aspects of policing and criminal justice. But their views on face recognition technology are more nuanced.

57% of Black adults say marijuana should be legal for medical and recreational use by adults; 28% say it should be legal for medical use only.

32% of Black adults said they worried every day or almost every day that they might be threatened or attacked because of their race or ethnicity.

Public views are tied to how these technologies would be used and what constraints would be in place.

Trust in scientists and medical scientists has fallen below pre-pandemic levels, with 29% of U.S. adults saying they have a great deal of confidence in medical scientists to act in the best interests of the public. This is down from 40% in November 2020 and 35% in January 2019, before COVID-19 emerged. Other prominent groups – including the military, police officers and public school principals – have also seen their ratings decline.

While views of and experiences with police vary substantially across demographic groups, there is support for a number of police reforms.

Americans are closely divided over whether people convicted of crimes spend too much, too little or about the right amount of time in prison.

The U.S. murder rate rose 30% between 2019 and 2020 – the largest single-year increase in more than a century.