In the U.S., liberals and conservatives report markedly different levels of confidence in nearly every key institution Gallup measures, reflecting the general polarization that typifies the country today. The confidence gap — the difference between groups in levels of confidence for a particular institution — is largest for the presidency […] Read more »
Confidence in Police Lowest in 22 Years
While a majority of Americans remain confident in the police, 52% currently express “a great deal” or “quite a lot” of confidence in that institution, tying the low in Gallup’s 22-year trend. Confidence has ranged fairly narrowly between 52% and 64% since 1993. CONT. Jeffrey M. Jones, Gallup Read more »
Confidence in U.S. Institutions Still Below Historical Norms
Americans’ confidence in most major U.S. institutions remains below the historical average for each one. Only the military (72%) and small business (67%) — the highest-rated institutions in this year’s poll — are currently rated higher than their historical norms, based on the percentage expressing “a great deal” or “quite […] Read more »
Deep Divide Between Black and White Americans on Criminal Justice System’s Racial Equality
… Approximately four in ten (41%) Americans overall agree that blacks and other minorities receive equal treatment as whites in the criminal justice system, compared to a slim majority (51%) who disagree. Perceptions of the fairness of the criminal justice system are heavily influenced by race, with nearly a 30-percentage […] Read more »
The crisis of police legitimacy
As riots engulfed parts of Baltimore, and Americans everywhere were forced to confront police killings and other brutalities in minority communities, TV viewers and newspaper readers were exposed to a series of polls demonstrating the very different attitudes African-Americans and whites display toward our police. These statistics signal a crisis […] Read more »
Negative View of U.S. Race Relations Grows
Public perceptions of race relations in America have grown substantially more negative in the aftermath of the death of a young black man who was injured while in police custody in Baltimore and the subsequent unrest, far eclipsing the sentiment recorded in the wake of turmoil in Ferguson, Mo., last […] Read more »