Summation
This article is available as a YouTube podcast.
Although Black Americans’ positive impressions of each measure have been at the majority level since 2021, the latest readings are the highest recorded or in line with the highest.
Recent data from all Americans as to how they rate law enforcement is included in the article.
Author
Thirty-five years of directing award-winning (50+) public relations for national and state criminal justice agencies. Interviewed thousands of times by every national news outlet, often with a focus on crime statistics and research. Created the first state and federal podcasting series. Produced a unique and emulated style of government proactive public relations.
Certificate of Advanced Study-The Johns Hopkins University.
Author of ”Success With The Media: Everything You Need To Survive Reporters and Your Organization,” available at Amazon and additional bookstores.
Crime in America.Net-“Trusted Crime Data, Made Clear.”
Quoted by The Associated Press, USA Today, A&E Television, the nationally syndicated Armstrong Williams Television Show (30 times), Department of Justice documents, US Supreme Court briefs, C-SPAN, the National Institute of Health, college and university online libraries, multiple books and journal articles, The Huffington Post, JAMA, The National Institute of Corrections, The Office of Juvenile Justice And Delinquency Prevention, The Bureau of Justice Assistance, Gartner Consulting, The Maryland Crime Victims Resource Center, The Marshall Project, The Heritage Foundation via Congressional testimony, Law Enforcement Today, Law Officer.Com, Blue Magazine, Corections.Com, Prison Legal News, The Hill (newspaper of Congress), the Journal of Offender Monitoring, Inside Edition Television, Yomiuri Shimbun (Asia’s largest newspaper), LeFigaro (France’s oldest newspaper), Oxygen and allied publications, Forbes, Newsweek, The Economist, The Toronto Sun, Homeland Security Digital Library, The ABA Journal, The Daily Express (UK) The Harvard Political Review, The Millennial Source, The Federalist Society, Lifewire, The Beccaria Portal On Crime (Europe), The European Journal of Criminology, American Focus and many additional publications.
Sign up for notice of new articles on the front page of this site.
A comprehensive overview of crime for recent years is available at Violent and Property Crime Rates In The U.S.
Article
Groups hold divergent opinions of law enforcement. African Americans are one of many. Any group that has a historically challenging relationship with law enforcement will have generational issues.
I grew up in working-class Baltimore, where my peers had an adversarial (not necessarily criminal) relationship with the local cops. We practiced running from the police in the nooks and crannies of our neighborhood. We enjoyed taunting them.
Historians will tell you that major events create a mindset that doesn’t disappear. The history of Blacks in America through slavery, Jim Crow, and massive violence (i.e., the Tulsa Race Riots) leaves a forever-lasting impression.
Per my Uncle, massive discrimination against Irish Catholics (i.e., signs stating that dogs and Irish were not allowed) was forever unforgivable. He never forgave or forgot.
African Americans Hold Leadership Roles In The Justice System
In many major U.S. cities, law enforcement and justice agencies are now led by African American executives. Many law enforcement, correctional, and parole and probation agencies have large percentages of Black employees. This trend is more pronounced in cities than nationally.
Per the Bureau of Justice Statistics, roughly 30% of correctional officers are Black. In urban probation/parole offices, especially in cities with large Black populations, African Americans are significantly represented. In law enforcement, Black officers comprise approximately 12–13 percent of the national workforce, aligning roughly with their share of the U.S. population.
Support For Law Enforcement
I have said for years that every group in America supports the police, and there is plenty of data to endorse that observation. Yes, there are differences based on events, political affiliation, age, race, and income. But that doesn’t change the fact that every group of Americans supports law enforcement and wants cops in their communities.
Contextually, we live in a day and age where professions and occupations are mostly distrusted (i.e., Congress, the media, and many others), yet the police remain supported, admired, and wanted by most.
Gallup (direct quotes)
As part of its coverage of Black Americans’ experiences, the Gallup Center on Black Voices has tracked several measures about local policing in the U.S. since 2021. These include questions about confidence in local police, satisfaction with the relationship between local police and the community where they serve, treatment of community members by police, and expectations of treatment from police.
The most recent results, aggregated from four quarterly 2024 web polls, show at least modest upticks in Black Americans’ positivity about their local police. Meanwhile, views of all adults nationally and among White Americans (the group with the highest positive assessments across all races and ethnicities) have been generally stable at a higher level than for Black adults.
Although Black Americans’ positive impressions of each measure have been at the majority level since 2021, the latest readings are the highest recorded or in line with the highest (emphasis added).
Expectations of an Encounter With Local Police
Three-quarters of Black adults in the U.S. think police in their area would treat them with courtesy and respect if they were to have an interaction, which is an improvement from the previous 69% to 71% range for the group. This compares to the latest 87% and 91% readings among all U.S. adults and White adults, respectively.
Satisfaction With the Relationship Between Local Police and Community
Separately, Gallup finds that 64% of Black adults are satisfied with the relationship between the police and their local community, which has edged up three points since 2023 and five points since the low point in 2022. U.S. adults’ satisfaction with local police’s relationship with their community is 76%, while White adults’ is 81%.
Belief That Local Police Treat People Like Them Fairly
At 67%, Black Americans’ belief that local police treat people like them fairly is four points higher than in 2023 and up nine points since 2022. Still, those improved figures are 18 points lower than all Americans (85%) and more than 20 points lower than White Americans (90%).
More Data On Police Public Perceptions
Americans’ confidence in the police increased eight percentage points over the past year to 51%, the largest year-over-year change in public perceptions of 17 major U.S. institutions measured in Gallup’s 2024 annual update.
The American public rates many institutions harshly. There are a wide variety of institutions and professions that are taking a beating. Policing does relatively well in Gallup (2025) and other reports of citizen satisfaction.
The overall use of “or” threat of force (all encounters) was at 2 percent, per repeated US Department of Justice polls. With additional positive polling data, it seems that most police officers are trying to interact with the American public respectfully, which is why confidence and trust are so high for law enforcement and so low for other institutions (i.e., Congress, journalism).
My article at U.S. Confidence In American Policing Dramatically Improves offered the following based on a “great deal” or “quite a lot” of confidence in the institution of the police.
Per Gallup, the average confidence in US institutions remains historically low, at 28%. But for law enforcement, Americans’ confidence in the police increased eight percentage points over the past year to 51%, the largest year-over-year change in public perceptions of 17 major U.S. institutions measured in Gallup’s annual update.
Faith in the police fell in 2020 to 48% after George Floyd was murdered (Gallup’s language) while in police custody. After increasing to 51% in 2021, confidence in the police dropped again in 2022 and dipped further to a record low of 43%.
Over the past year, confidence in the police has risen among most major demographic subgroups of Americans, particularly three that previously expressed lower levels of confidence in the police: those aged 18 to 34, people of color, and political independents.
There is information in the article regarding additional ratings of law enforcement that are mostly positive. If you are interested in the topic, you should read the article.
There were 17 American institutions rated, and the police came in third. Considering everything law enforcement has been through in recent years, that’s a remarkable accomplishment.
The overwhelming majority of those polled expressed favorable views of the law enforcement institution if you include “a great deal,” “quite a lot” or “some” regarding confidence.
The 2025 Gallup Report Measuring Professions Measuring Honesty and Ethics of Professions Ratings
The new Gallup Report released on January 13, 2025, titled Americans’ Ratings of U.S. Professions Stay Historically Low, based on perceptions of “High/Very High” police were given a rating of 45 percent in 2023 and 44 percent in 2025 based on how Americans view the personal character and moral behavior of people in various professions.
Three in four Americans consider nurses highly honest and ethical, making them the most trusted of 23 professions rated in Gallup’s annual measurement. Grade-school teachers rank second, with 61% viewing them highly, while military officers, pharmacists, and medical doctors also earn high trust from the majority of Americans.
The least trusted professions, with more than half of U.S. adults saying their ethics are low or very low, are lobbyists, members of Congress, and TV reporters.
Of the remaining occupations measured in the Dec. 2-18, 2024, poll, six (including police officers, clergy, and judges) are viewed more positively than negatively by Americans, although with positive ratings not reaching the majority level.
The other nine, notably including bankers, lawyers, and business executives, are seen more negatively than positively, with no more than 50% rating their ethics low.
The bottom line of the rankings is that the law enforcement profession beat 14 of the 23 professions, including the clergy, bankers, the media, and members of Congress.
The law enforcement profession received an overall score of 79 if you include ”High/Very High/Average.”
Conclusions
As debates about policing continue, understanding how public opinion is measured — and what it really reflects — is more important than ever.
First, the American public rates many institutions harshly. There are a wide variety of institutions and professions that are taking a beating.
Cops and the law enforcement profession usually rank well, especially when compared to others.
There will always be controversy as to interactions with law enforcement. From my years in policing, it’s literally impossible to say and do the right things in every interaction. Whenever you mix over a million police employees with 50-60 million yearly contacts, things will inevitably go wrong.
It’s the same for medicine, journalism, business, or any other profession.
But it’s safe to say, based on the above and additional polling data, that most police interactions are positive, which seems almost impossible considering the nature of the job.
All polls state that groups, regardless of demographics, want police in their communities.
Per Gallup, North American law enforcement is near the top of worldwide rankings.
With the overall use “or” threat of force (all encounters) at 2 percent, per repeated US Department of Justice polling, and with additional positive polling data, it seems that most police officers are trying to interact with the American public respectfully, which is why confidence and trust are so high for law enforcement and so low for other institutions (i.e., Congress, journalism).
Considering the multi-century history of police relations with African Americans, and when considering polling data on institutions, American policing seems to be doing reasonably well, while understanding that there remains room for improvement.
Every police officer takes an oath to defend and protect the U.S. Constitution and their state constitutions. Every constitution mandates equal treatment under the law.
One Reply to “Black Perceptions Of Police–Highest Confidence Levels Recorded By Gallup”