Quinnipiac Poll shows almost half of Americans support their police departments

The poll, released June 17th, also shows some reforms are needed


When it comes to views of police in the United States, slightly more voters, 49 - 44 percent, approve of the way the police are doing their job than disapprove. That is a substantial shift in opinion from April of 2018, when 65 percent of voters approved of the way police in the U.S. were doing their jobs and 26 percent disapproved.

However, voters give higher marks to police in their own communities. 77 percent approve of the way police in their community are doing their jobs while 19 percent disapprove. That's compared to 84 percent approval and 12 percent disapproval in October of 2016.

When asked whether being the victim of police brutality is something you personally worry about, 25 percent of voters say "yes," while 74 percent say "no." There is a stark difference by race, as 74 percent of black voters and 32 percent of Hispanic voters personally worry about being the victim of police brutality, compared to only 13 percent of white voters.

POLICE REFORMS

Voters support 66 - 27 percent banning the use of chokeholds by police departments in the United States. That includes 75 percent of Democrats, 67 percent of independents and 57 percent of Republicans.

When voters were asked whether they support or oppose cutting some funding from police departments in their community and shifting it to social services, 54 percent of voters oppose while 41 percent support the idea. Democrats support the idea 70 - 24 percent, Republicans oppose it 86 - 10 percent, and independents oppose it 56 - 40 percent.

Roughly 8 in 10 voters, 81 - 14 percent, say they oppose eliminating the current police department in their community and replacing it with a new one.


The Quinnipiac University Poll, directed by Douglas Schwartz, Ph.D., conducts gold standard surveys using random digit dialing with live interviewers calling landlines and cell phones. The Quinnipiac University Poll conducts nationwide surveys and polls in more than a dozen states on national and statewide elections, as well as public policy issues.

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Submitted by Carmel, NY

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