Suzanimal
11-18-2014, 10:45 AM
As issues of police brutality and accountability continue to receive national attention, a new HuffPost/YouGov poll shows about half of Americans aren't convinced calling law enforcement is an effective way to peacefully resolve a dispute.
In the poll, just 49 percent of respondents said they believe police officers responding to a situation are most likely to help resolve it peacefully. Twenty-seven percent of respondents said law enforcement is most likely to make the situation more volatile, while 24 percent said they weren't sure.
White respondents were more likely than any other race polled to say they thought police would resolve a situation peacefully, while black respondents were the most likely to say police would make it more volatile.
The poll also showed that 28 percent of respondents had called the police to resolve a dispute in the past, while 72 percent never had. These findings were relatively uniform across racial demographics.
The survey comes as the nation waits to hear if a grand jury will indict Officer Darren Wilson in the August death of Michael Brown, the black 18-year-old who Wilson shot in Ferguson, Missouri. The incident has led to increased scrutiny of the tactics employed by law enforcement, and the violence that sometimes comes as a result of police involvement.
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The HuffPost/YouGov poll found large demographic disparities regarding the belief that police brutality takes place locally. Of total respondents, 29 percent said the problem existed around them, while 43 percent said it didn't and 27 percent said they weren't sure. Among white respondents, 25 percent said police brutality was an issue in their local law enforcement. But among black respondents, 58 percent said police brutality existed in their area, while 22 percent said it didn't and 20 percent weren't sure.
Previous HuffPost/YouGov polls conducted in the wake of Brown's death have tracked issues around how race plays into perceptions of law enforcement and police treatment of suspects. A survey released in August found that a 53 percent majority of all Americans thought police in most big cities are tougher on blacks than on whites. That number rose to 86 percent among black respondents.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/11/17/calling-police-poll_n_6172210.html?utm_hp_ref=politics&ir=Politics
In the poll, just 49 percent of respondents said they believe police officers responding to a situation are most likely to help resolve it peacefully. Twenty-seven percent of respondents said law enforcement is most likely to make the situation more volatile, while 24 percent said they weren't sure.
White respondents were more likely than any other race polled to say they thought police would resolve a situation peacefully, while black respondents were the most likely to say police would make it more volatile.
The poll also showed that 28 percent of respondents had called the police to resolve a dispute in the past, while 72 percent never had. These findings were relatively uniform across racial demographics.
The survey comes as the nation waits to hear if a grand jury will indict Officer Darren Wilson in the August death of Michael Brown, the black 18-year-old who Wilson shot in Ferguson, Missouri. The incident has led to increased scrutiny of the tactics employed by law enforcement, and the violence that sometimes comes as a result of police involvement.
...
The HuffPost/YouGov poll found large demographic disparities regarding the belief that police brutality takes place locally. Of total respondents, 29 percent said the problem existed around them, while 43 percent said it didn't and 27 percent said they weren't sure. Among white respondents, 25 percent said police brutality was an issue in their local law enforcement. But among black respondents, 58 percent said police brutality existed in their area, while 22 percent said it didn't and 20 percent weren't sure.
Previous HuffPost/YouGov polls conducted in the wake of Brown's death have tracked issues around how race plays into perceptions of law enforcement and police treatment of suspects. A survey released in August found that a 53 percent majority of all Americans thought police in most big cities are tougher on blacks than on whites. That number rose to 86 percent among black respondents.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/11/17/calling-police-poll_n_6172210.html?utm_hp_ref=politics&ir=Politics