Résumé
At first glance Americans appear satisfied with their local law enforcement. However, below the surface reside many stark differences in attitudes toward the police across race/ethnicity, age, education, income, and ideological lines. In a new extensive national public opinion survey, Cato scholar Emily Ekins finds deep partisan and racial divides in perceptions of police efficacy, impartiality, integrity, empathy, tactics, and accountability. Comprehensively examining survey results, the report explores public priorities for policing, anxiety about crime, the impact of personal experiences with police and the judicial system, police misconduct, the use of force, perceptions of police accountability and integrity, and much more.