Americans' Respect for Police Surges
Three in four Americans (76%) say they have "a great deal" of respect for the police in their area, up 12 percentage points from last year, according to a recent Gallup Poll.
In addition to the large majority of Americans expressing "a great deal" of respect for their local police, 17% say they have "some" respect while 7% say they have "hardly any."
Gallup has asked this question nine times since 1965. The percentage who say they respect the police is significantly higher now than in any measurement taken since the 1990's and is just one point below the high of 77% recorded in 1967. Solid majorities of Americans have said they respect their local law enforcement in all polls conducted since 1965.
The latest figures, from Gallup's Oct. 5-9 annual poll on crime, show Americans' respect for police increased as the number of on-duty police officers who were shot and killed was on the rise.
Americans' confidence in police has also increased after falling to a 22-year low in 2015 and recovering in this year's poll. The latter was conducted in early June, before police officers were shot and killed in separate incidents in Texas and Louisiana.
Respect for Police Up Sharply Among Both Whites and Nonwhites
The increase in shootings of police coincided with high-profile incidents of law enforcement officials shooting and killing unarmed black men. Despite the flaring of racial tensions after these incidents, respect for local police has increased among both whites and nonwhites.
Four in five whites (80%) say they have a great deal of respect for police in their area, up 11 points from last year. Meanwhile, two in three nonwhites (67%) report having the same level of respect, an increase of 14 points from last year.
Since 2000, whites have been more likely than nonwhites to say they respect local law enforcement.
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