Trust in America: Do Americans trust the police?
While views of and experiences with police vary substantially across demographic groups, there is support for a number of police reforms.
Police
Cultural Issues and the 2024 Election
Voters who support Biden and Trump have starkly different opinions on many issues, and these two groups are divided internally as well.
What the data says about crime in the U.S.
Federal statistics show dramatic declines in U.S. violent and property crime rates since the early 1990s.
Sign up for our weekly newsletter
Fresh data delivery Saturday mornings
All
Police
Publications
Displaying 1-10 of ? results
Filtering by:
Reset
-
#BlackLivesMatter Turns 10
More than 44 million #BlackLivesMatter tweets from nearly 10 million distinct users currently exist on Twitter today. Over half of all existing tweets that include the #BlackLivesMatter hashtag were posted from May to September 2020.
-
How Black Americans view the use of face recognition technology by police
Black Americans are critical of key aspects of policing and criminal justice. But their views on face recognition technology are more nuanced.
-
AI and Human Enhancement: Americans’ Openness Is Tempered by a Range of Concerns
Public views are tied to how these technologies would be used and what constraints would be in place.
-
Americans’ Trust in Scientists, Other Groups Declines
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.
-
Americans have heard more about clashes between police and protesters than other recent news stories
The public is more likely to have heard “a lot” about ongoing confrontations between police and protesters than several other stories.
-
Majority of Public Favors Giving Civilians the Power to Sue Police Officers for Misconduct
While declining shares give police forces positive marks for their use of force, treatment of racial groups and officer accountability, there is little support for cuts in spending on local policing.
-
A month before George Floyd’s death, black and white Americans differed sharply in confidence in the police
In April, 78% of Americans overall – but 56% of black Americans – said they had confidence in police officers to act in the public’s best interests.
-
10 things we know about race and policing in the U.S.
Black adults are about five times as likely as whites to say they’ve been unfairly stopped by police because of their race or ethnicity.
-
About half of Americans are OK with DNA testing companies sharing user data with law enforcement
The use of at-home DNA testing kits has raised concerns about whether consumers are comfortable with the use of their data by police.
-
Four-in-ten U.S. drug arrests in 2018 were for marijuana offenses – mostly possession
Police officers in the United States still make more arrests for marijuana offenses than for any other drug, according to FBI data.
REFINE YOUR SELECTION
Date
Years
Formats
Regions & Countries
Topics
Research Teams
Authors
© 2024 Pew Research Center