Americans are feeling more respect for their local police, with three out of four people surveyed in a new Gallup poll saying they have a "great deal" of respect for the departments in their area, marking a 12 percentage point jump from last year.
According to the poll, released on Monday and conducted from Oct. 5-9:
- 76 percent have a "great deal" of respect;
- 17 percent, "some" respect;
- 7 percent, "hardly any" respect.
The current level of respect is higher now than at any point of the polls taken since the 1990s, and comes in at just 1 point below the high of 77 percent from a poll recorded in 1967.
Gallup has asked the question on police nine times since 1965, and all the polls marked solid majorities of people who say they respect their local law enforcement departments.
Even though racial tensions have flared following police shootings of unarmed black men, respect for law enforcement increased among both whites and nonwhites surveyed in the poll, Gallup reports:
- Whites: 80 percent great deal of respect, up 11 points from last year;
- Nonwhites: 67 percent great deal of respect, up 14 percent.
Whites, since 2000, have been more likely than nonwhite respondents to say they respect local law enforcement departments, according to Gallup polls.
Respect for police also went up among age and political party groups:
- Republicans: 86 percent;
- Conservatives: 85 percent;
- Democrats: 68 percent;
- Liberals: 71 percent;
- Adults ages 55 and older: 81 percent;
- Adults ages 18-34: 69 percent;
- Suburban Americans: 82 percent;
- Town or rural residents: 82 percent;
- Small or large cities: 68 percent.
The increases come while police say they feel they are defending themselves politically and on the job following national discussions on police brutality and shootings.
The poll was conducted using a random sample of 1,017 adults ages 18 and older in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, and carried a margin of error of 4 points, at a 95 percent confidence level.
For more information on the survey methodology and complete responses and trends, click here.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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