Black Americans are deeply divided over whether police treat minorities fairly
— and whether there should be more officers in their neighborhoods,
a new Gallup poll finds.
In the Minority Rights and Relations Gallup survey, 52 percent of blacks thought their local police treat minorities either "very fairly" or "fairly;" 48 percent thought police act "unfairly" or "very unfairly."
Nationally, in comparison, 73 percent of adults, 71 percent of Hispanics, and 78 percent of whites said police treat racial minorities fairly.
The survey, conducted June 15 to July 10, also finds 38 percent of blacks want a greater police presence in their local communities, though only 18 percent of whites want that, and nationally, just 23 percent want to see more local police.
"As calls for police reform in certain segments of the population continue, it is interesting that Americans are not calling for less of a police presence, but rather, either the same amount of officers or more officers," a Gallup analysis states.
"This may mean that Americans understand the need and value of police, but may want a different type of police force in the future, or just a change in behavior among current officers."
For example, the survey finds, nationally, 73 percent of those who believe racial minorities are treated fairly by police say they want the same amount of police officers in their communities; the number drops to 53 percent among those who think minorities are treated unfairly. Rather, 31 percent of those who decry unfair treatment of minorities want an increased police presence, the survey finds.
Among blacks, 59 percent who think minorities are treated fairly want police presence kept as-is; 33 percent want a larger police presence.
African-Americans who say police treat minorities unfairly are divided, with 44 percent saying they want more police officers and 42 saying they want the same amount of cops in their local area.
The margin of error is plus or minus 5 percentage points on the total sample.
The survey comes as Ferguson, Mo., braces for protests on the one-year anniversary of a police shooting of an unarmed black teen, triggering a national debate on the the relations between police and blacks.
On Wednesday, an
Associated Press survey found more than three out of five blacks say they or a family member have personal experience with being treated unfairly by the police — and race is the reason.
Half of African American respondents, including six in 10 black men, said they personally had been treated unfairly by police because of their race, compared with 3 percent of whites. Another 15 percent said they knew of a family member who had been treated unfairly by the police because of their race.