By Joanna Putman
Police1
WASHINGTON, D.C. — While confidence in many U.S. institutions has dropped in the past year, confidence in police has risen by eight percentage points, according to the results of a Gallup poll.
Confidence in the police among Americans reached 51%, according to Gallup’s annual survey of major U.S. institutions. This marks the largest year-over-year change in public perceptions among the 17 institutions measured, according to the report.
The slim majority includes 25% of U.S. adults who say they have “a great deal” of confidence in the police and 26% who express “quite a lot,” according to the report. Gallup first measured confidence in the police in 1993, with a high of 64% in 2004. Confidence fell to 48% in 2020 following the murder of George Floyd and reached a record low of 43% in 2023 before rebounding to 51% in the latest survey.
GALLUP
The slim majority includes 25% of U.S. adults who say they have “a great deal” of confidence in the police and 26% who express “quite a lot,” according to the report. Gallup first measured confidence in the police in 1993, with a high of 64% in 2004. Confidence fell to 48% in 2020 following the murder of George Floyd and reached a record low of 43% in 2023 before rebounding to 51% in the latest survey.
Notably, confidence has increased among demographic groups that previously expressed lower levels of trust in the police, including those aged 18 to 34, people of color and political independents, according to the report.
Overall, confidence in the 14 institutions tracked regularly by Gallup since 1993 remains historically low, with the average confidence level at 28% for the third consecutive year.
