Americans’ Respect for Police Surges

This won’t help the community organizers. Via Gallup

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.

Americans' Respect for Police in Their Areas, 1965-2016

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 1990s 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.

Right-Mind