• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Home
  • About
  • The Magazine
  • Events
  • Partners
  • Products
  • Advertise
  • Contact
  • Jobs and Careers
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Subscribe to the Magazine
American Police Beat

American Police Beat Magazine

Law Enforcement Publication

  • Home
  • Editor’s Picks
    • The power of teamwork
      Stay awake and alert on the job
      The worst rank in law enforcement
      Firearms maintenance
      Why fries need salt
  • Topics
    • On the Job
      • Law enforcement agencies prepare for civil unrest following leaked...
        Arizona troopers find nearly 40 pounds of fentanyl pills and cocaine...
        Equipment and training considerations for pistol-mounted optics
        Think of de-escalation as conflict resolution
        Chicago Police Department launches cold-case video series
    • Labor
      • NYPD overtime expected to surpass budget by over $142 million to...
        Portland police shut down cold case unit to reinforce homicide...
        Living in the ashes
        Atlanta mayor wants to hire 450 more police officers to expand...
        Florida sheriff’s office cites recruitment and retention crisis...
    • Tech
      • High-tech policing
        Open-source investigations
        Virginia lawmakers lift ban on the use of facial recognition...
        Iowa State University simulation training module offers de-escalation...
        Law enforcement warns about the dangers of Apple AirTags and unwanted...
    • Training
      • “The hidden danger is the water”
        Weapon retention
        Developing trauma-informed training and drills for K–12 schools
        Crime prevention training
        So you want to be a civilian firearms trainer?
    • Policy
      • Orange County D.A. unveils new PSA against street racing with actors...
        New Jersey revises policy to allow police to engage in car chases...
        DOJ announces online resource center for law enforcement agencies to...
        Florida bill creating election fraud police force becomes law
        New York City subway shooting sheds light on spike in transit crime
    • Health/Wellness
      • What anxiety is — and what not to do about it
        Supporting a partner in crisis
        Spiritual resilience
        Overcoming relationship communication challenges
        How visual simulation training can activate your trauma
    • Community
      • LGBTQ police officers allowed to participate in Denver PrideFest...
        California police department helps pay for families’ groceries as a...
        “I thought he was going to die”: 6-year-old calls police to save...
        Treated like royalty
        Dispatchers: The unsung heroes
    • Offbeat
      • Maine police arrest man hiding under a blanket in ghost disguise
        Texas burglar mows the lawn before fleeing police
        Drone flying bag of handguns across the U.S.-Canada border gets stuck...
        Receding water levels in Lake Mead uncover barrel containing a dead...
        Pet duck helps North Carolina police solve murder mystery
    • We Remember
      • A living legacy
        Not in vain
        Honoring Fallen Heroes
        Florida law enforcement, legislators weigh whether to classify...
        National Law Enforcement Museum offers free Saturday admission for...
  • On the Job
    • Law enforcement agencies prepare for civil unrest following leaked...
      Arizona troopers find nearly 40 pounds of fentanyl pills and cocaine...
      Equipment and training considerations for pistol-mounted optics
      Think of de-escalation as conflict resolution
      Chicago Police Department launches cold-case video series
  • Labor
    • NYPD overtime expected to surpass budget by over $142 million to...
      Portland police shut down cold case unit to reinforce homicide...
      Living in the ashes
      Atlanta mayor wants to hire 450 more police officers to expand...
      Florida sheriff’s office cites recruitment and retention crisis...
  • Tech
    • High-tech policing
      Open-source investigations
      Virginia lawmakers lift ban on the use of facial recognition...
      Iowa State University simulation training module offers de-escalation...
      Law enforcement warns about the dangers of Apple AirTags and unwanted...
  • Training
    • “The hidden danger is the water”
      Weapon retention
      Developing trauma-informed training and drills for K–12 schools
      Crime prevention training
      So you want to be a civilian firearms trainer?
  • Policy
    • Orange County D.A. unveils new PSA against street racing with actors...
      New Jersey revises policy to allow police to engage in car chases...
      DOJ announces online resource center for law enforcement agencies to...
      Florida bill creating election fraud police force becomes law
      New York City subway shooting sheds light on spike in transit crime
  • Health/Wellness
    • What anxiety is — and what not to do about it
      Supporting a partner in crisis
      Spiritual resilience
      Overcoming relationship communication challenges
      How visual simulation training can activate your trauma
  • Community
    • LGBTQ police officers allowed to participate in Denver PrideFest...
      California police department helps pay for families’ groceries as a...
      “I thought he was going to die”: 6-year-old calls police to save...
      Treated like royalty
      Dispatchers: The unsung heroes
  • Offbeat
    • Maine police arrest man hiding under a blanket in ghost disguise
      Texas burglar mows the lawn before fleeing police
      Drone flying bag of handguns across the U.S.-Canada border gets stuck...
      Receding water levels in Lake Mead uncover barrel containing a dead...
      Pet duck helps North Carolina police solve murder mystery
  • We Remember
    • A living legacy
      Not in vain
      Honoring Fallen Heroes
      Florida law enforcement, legislators weigh whether to classify...
      National Law Enforcement Museum offers free Saturday admission for...
  • Between the Lines
    • Persecution of the LEO is Classic Schadenfreude
      The Rule of Law is Worthless Without Order
      School policing: a paradox of the defund movement
      Defending the honor of the LE profession – finally!
      The dichotomy of the defund movement: reality setting in
  • About
  • The Magazine
  • Events
  • Partners
  • Products
  • Advertise
  • Contact
Search

Community

And the survey says …

Various research supports a positive public opinion of cops

APB Team Published July 11, 2021 @ 6:00 am PDT

iStock.com/Imagesbybarbara

Instead of taking the mainstream media’s word for how people feel about local law enforcement, organizations in several communities surveyed their citizens for a more accurate perspective.

During the tense days of the Derek Chauvin trial in March, the Texas Municipal Police Association (TMPA) contracted with Cygnal (a polling, analytics and targeting company) to question residents of several East Texas cities about police support. The results found that nearly three-fourths of participants claimed to have full faith in their local cops. 

“They do not believe that we should have wholesale changes to public policy based on rhetoric and hyperbole, but they do expect us to improve the level of services that law enforcement provides,” says Kevin Lawrence, TMPA executive director, as reported by CBS19.

Lawrence not only found the outcome reassuring, but also validating for TMPA’s goal to lobby police and sheriff’s departments to provide more training for their officers. 

“The amount of training required to become a licensed peace officer in Texas is less than half the amount of training required to become a licensed cosmetologist,” he told the local news station. “And then, on top of that, you’re only required to go through 20 hours of in-service training every year, that’s the baseline required by the state. We’re not mandating de-escalation. When we start trimming budgets, which are the first two things you trim when you start looking at budget shortfalls? Staffing and training.” 

In California’s Stanislaus County, the recently formed Project Resolve, a group of law enforcement and community leaders, also surveyed people living within its borders about support for law enforcement. Interestingly, the results mirrored those in Texas — 74% of respondents expressed support for local police departments, 73% supported individual officers and 72% supported the sheriff’s department.

“Of course, the goal would be 100%, but in this profession, that’s probably never going to happen even though we might want it to,” Sheriff Jeff Dirkse, who also leads Project Resolve, commented to The Modesto Bee. 

The survey also confirmed that 38% of respondents believed they had a negative interaction with law enforcement, and more than one-fourth felt officers racially profiled them.

Seattle was one of the more chaotic locations during the 2020 protests, but a recent questioning of its citizens also proved that individuals hold positive opinions of police. A citywide questionnaire sent out this spring by Seattle University and answered by more than 11,000 Seattleites divulged that the annual police legitimacy score (based on a scale of 0–100) fell by less than one point: 58.4 in 2020 compared to 59.3 in 2019, reported The Seattle Times. When broken down into specific neighborhoods, researchers learned that the Emerald City’s most diverse neighborhood almost matched the city score at 57.9. Racial results probably delivered the biggest surprise, with Black residents giving a legitimacy ranking of 61.3. Not surprisingly, the biggest divides came from political and age classifications. 

TMPA’s Lawrence told reporters that such surveys provide law enforcement agencies with critical data because, he believes, the best community policing models
learn from the communities where they operate.

“The better we understand our citizens, and more importantly, the better our citizens understand why law enforcement does what it does the way it does … the fewer misunderstandings we’re going to have,” he says. 

As seen in the June 2021 issue of American Police Beat magazine.
Don’t miss out on another issue today! Click below:

SUBSCRIBE TODAY!

Categories: Community

Primary Sidebar

Recent Articles

  • Law enforcement agencies prepare for civil unrest following leaked Supreme Court opinion on Roe v. Wade
  • Maine police arrest man hiding under a blanket in ghost disguise
  • Texas burglar mows the lawn before fleeing police
  • Drone flying bag of handguns across the U.S.-Canada border gets stuck in tree
  • Arizona troopers find nearly 40 pounds of fentanyl pills and cocaine hidden in unicorn backpack
  • “The hidden danger is the water”
  • NYPD overtime expected to surpass budget by over $142 million to combat crime
  • Equipment and training considerations for pistol-mounted optics
  • LGBTQ police officers allowed to participate in Denver PrideFest parade after last year’s ban
  • Receding water levels in Lake Mead uncover barrel containing a dead body; police expect more to come

Footer

Our Mission
To serve as a trusted voice of the nation’s law enforcement community, providing informative, entertaining and inspiring content on interesting and engaging topics affecting peace officers today.

Contact us: info@apbweb.com

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram

Categories

  • Editor’s Picks
  • On the Job
  • Labor
  • Tech
  • Training
  • Policy
  • Health/Wellness
  • Community
  • Offbeat
  • We Remember
  • Jobs and Careers
  • Events

Editor’s Picks

The power of teamwork

The power of teamwork

July 23, 2021

Stay awake and alert on the job

Stay awake and alert on the job

July 20, 2021

The worst rank in law enforcement

The worst rank in law enforcement

July 19, 2021

Firearms maintenance

Firearms maintenance

July 04, 2021

Privacy Policy | Copyright © 2022 APB Media, LLC | Website design, development and maintenance by 911MEDIA

Open

Subscribe

Close
Receive the latest news and updates from American Police Beat directly to your inbox!
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.