A new Gallup poll found that nonwhites are less likely to believe that the police protect them, though the gap has slightly narrowed over the years.
In a survey conducted last month, 60 percent of white Americans have “confidence in police to protect them from violent crime,” while 49 percent of nonwhites felt that way.
In statistic compiled since 1985, trust in police protection was at its lowest in 1993 after the Rodney King verdicts. Just 47 percent of whites and 33 percent of nonwhites trusted the cops back then.
While they don’t always express confidence in the police — 57 percent of all Americans polled — respondents were slightly more likely to say they respected the cops.
Sixty-one percent said they respected police “a great deal,” 29 percent respected the police “some” and 9 percent said they had “hardly any” respect for lawmen.
Back in 1967, 77 percent had a “great deal” of respect for police, Gallup said.
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