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Monday, Jun 15, 2020

Do polls support the idea that most Black people favor a stronger police presence in their communities?

Eric Smith, Gigafact Foundry

no

Polls from just after the death of George Floyd show falling approval for police among Black respondents. A June 10-11 ABC News/Ipsos poll finds 57% of Black Americans support the movement to "defund the police," which generally relates to reducing police funding and scope for involvement with the public. USA Today on June 6 reported its own poll findings that only 38% of Black Americans view the police "favorably or somewhat favorably," down 9 points from a May 21-27 survey.

A 2016 Pew Research Center survey found that only 14% of Blacks said they have a lot of confidence in their local police, and 41% said they had some confidence.

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