Most Americans support greater scrutiny of police as discrimination concerns persist, Post-ABC poll
Source: Washington Post/ABC
By Scott Clement and Emily Guskin
April 23, 2021 at 6:00 a.m. EDT
Six in 10 Americans say the country should do more to hold police accountable for mistreatment of Black people, far outpacing concerns about those measures interfering with how law enforcement does its job, according to a Washington Post-ABC News poll.
The nationwide survey also finds that concerns over treatment of Black Americans and other minorities by the criminal justice system ― which spiked last summer amid national protests after George Floyds killing ― have eased slightly since then. But those concerns remain at the highest point in previous surveys dating back to 1988.
The Post-ABC poll was conducted Sunday through Wednesday, a period that overlaps with Tuesdays conviction of former police officer Derek Chauvin on three charges, including murder, in Floyds killing. While the event has the potential to shift attitudes, the poll found no significant differences between respondents interviewed before and after the verdicts announcement.
Atop a series of law enforcement killings in recent years, Floyds death and the nationwide protests that followed appear to have shaken Americans confidence in police. In 2014, 54 percent said they were confident police were adequately trained to avoid the use of excessive force, but that dropped to 47 percent last July and 44 percent this month, with 55 percent now saying they lack confidence in police on this question.
Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/04/23/poll-police-bias-floyd
Read Post-ABC poll results and how the poll was conducted