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Massive Pew Survey of 8000 cops finds officers' views sharply divided by race

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T

theignoramus

Member
Behind the Badge

In a new Pew Research Center national survey conducted by the National Police Research Platform, majorities of police officers say that recent high-profile fatal encounters between black citizens and police officers have made their jobs riskier, aggravated tensions between police and blacks, and left many officers reluctant to fully carry out some of their duties.

The wide-ranging survey, one of the largest ever conducted with a nationally representative sample of police, draws on the attitudes and experiences of nearly 8,000 policemen and women from departments with at least 100 officers.1 It comes at a crisis point in America’s relationship with the men and women who enforce its laws, precipitated by a series of deaths of black Americans during encounters with the police that have energized a vigorous national debate over police conduct and methods.
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The racial divide looms equally large on other survey questions, particularly those that touch on race. When considered together, the frequency and sheer size of the differences between the views of black and white officers mark one of the singular findings of this survey. For example, only about a quarter of all white officers (27%) but seven-in-ten of their black colleagues (69%) say the protests that followed fatal encounters between police and black citizens have been motivated at least to some extent by a genuine desire to hold police accountable.

And when the topic turns more broadly to the state of race relations, virtually all white officers (92%) but only 29% of their black colleagues say that the country has made the changes needed to assure equal rights for blacks. Not only do the views of white officers differ from those of their black colleagues, but they stand far apart from those of whites overall: 57% of all white adults say no more changes are needed, as measured in the Center’s survey of the general public.
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These findings come from two separate Pew Research Center surveys. The main survey is an online poll of a nationally representative sample of 7,917 officers working in 54 police and sheriff’s departments with 100 or more sworn officers. (Some 63% of all sworn officers work in departments of this size.) The National Police Research Platform, headquartered at the University of Illinois at Chicago during the study period, conducted this survey of police for the Pew Research Center May 19-Aug. 14, 2016, using its panel of police agencies.
The views of the public included in this report drew from a Pew Research Center American Trends Panel survey of 4,538 U.S. adults conducted online and by mail Aug. 16-Sept. 12, 2016. That survey included many of the same questions asked on the police survey, allowing direct comparisons to be made between the views of officers and the public.
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T

The Lamp

Member
Shaanyboi said:
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Jesus, it's like they're exclusively hiring bigoted white people to be officers...
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You don't need a college degree to be a cop, do you?

I guess it's pretty easy to be white and get through high school without learning any history or empathy for civil rights and minorities.
 
G

Gattsu25

Banned
There's a lot to digest here.

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It's a shame that police unions will prevent anything from being done about this.
 
K

Kusagari

Member
So basically white officers are significantly worse than the general white person in their views on race.

Not surprising in the least considering our current reality.
 
S

Skellig Gra

Member
Shaanyboi said:
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Jesus, it's like they're exclusively hiring bigoted white people to be officers...
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I don't think so. Being blind to the struggles of black people is quite common because they never see or hear from them.

That being said there is clearly a lot of racist white cops out there.
 
Z

Zaph

Member
Hollywood Duo said:
I don't think so. Being blind to the struggles of black people is quite common because they never see or hear from them.

That being said there is clearly a lot of racist white cops out there.
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Look at the white officer percentage compared to white people in general.

I'm not saying the white percentage is good, but it's significantly less than the officers. That is not a coincidence or margin of error - its clear the force either attracts prejudice people or cultivates it.
 
S

Saint Gregory

Member
Shaanyboi said:
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Jesus, it's like they're exclusively hiring bigoted white people to be officers...
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I said this is one of the other threads (it may have come across like a joke) but if you're a racist white person that wants to take out your aggressions against black people can you think of a better profession?
 
S

Skux

Member
For example, only about a quarter of all white officers (27%) but seven-in-ten of their black colleagues (69%) say the protests that followed fatal encounters between police and black citizens have been motivated at least to some extent by a genuine desire to hold police accountable
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What the hell do they think they're protesting about? Do they think people get mad for no reason?
 
V

Vicetrailia

Member
Zaph said:
Look at the white officer percentage compared to white people in general.

I'm not saying the white percentage is good, but it's significantly less than the officers. That is not a coincidence or margin of error - its clear the force either attracts prejudice people or cultivates it.
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Less educated as well.
 
S

Skellig Gra

Member
Zaph said:
Look at the white officer percentage compared to white people in general.

I'm not saying the white percentage is good, but it's significantly less than the officers. That is not a coincidence or margin of error - its clear the force either attracts prejudice people or cultivates it.
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I'd lean more towards cultivation of that attitude. The difference is too dramatic. It's not like they have secret racism identifying questions on the job application.
 
G

Gentleman Jack

Member
Gattsu25 said:
There's a lot to digest here.

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It's a shame that police unions will prevent anything from being done about this.
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I think it's worth probing further into this data point in particular. Of the half of officers who see that disciplinary action against officers is unfair, do they see the unfairness tilted against officers or in favor of officers who are accused of anything ranging from misconduct to criminal activity?
 
E

Electric Eye

Banned
Saint Gregory said:
I said this is one of the other threads (it may have come across like a joke) but if you're a racist white person that wants to take out your aggressions against black people can you think of a better profession?
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They also hire a lot of ex military in fact the prefer it and so they already come in with a mentality of not trusting those that don't look like you.
 
C

Crosseyes

Banned
Some of those numbers are... staggering in how bad they are.

92% of white cops responded saying the country has taken enough steps to treat blacks equally? Ninety. Two. Percent.

That's effectively all white cops. No generalizing stereotypes. Factually nearly all white cops.

Next time the #Notallcops argument comes up even that is statistically basically untrue. A white guy with a badge is nearly guaranteed to be racist. Factually.
 
T

theignoramus

Member
Crosseyes said:
Some of those numbers are... staggering in how bad they are.

92% of white cops responded saying the country has taken enough steps to treat blacks equally? Ninety. Two. Percent.

That's effectively all white cops. No generalizing stereotypes. Factually nearly all white cops.

Next time the #Notallcops argument comes up even that is statistically basically untrue. A white guy with a badge is nearly guaranteed to be racist. Factually.
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That didnt surprise me. But Ima need a word with the 29% of Black officers that supported that claim. Who raised those Negros?
Those are the Black officers beating on other Black folk, guaranteed.
 
T

TheWasTheJoke

Member
As a police officer, admitting that the system which you have participated in is broken is an indictment on yourself. It demonstrates that you participate in structures that facilitate murder and racism. In that situation, I could see it being easier for many to blame 'BLM', the 'Gangs' and the 'people' who should be 'owing them their gratitude'.
On a purely superficial level, devoid of any nuance and examination into societal mechanics, the police are the 'good guys' because they enforce the law, which is right because it is, on the criminals who are always wrong. These are all culturally reinforced viewpoints driven home from a young age, and probably particularly so among police who are mainly white and male.

I would think police culture would hold many of this viewpoints, and it would be this that would contribute to the pretty terrible numbers shown. Hopefully the message can be spread that being anti-police means being against the institution's flaws rather than the people who act them out.
 
B

BlueTsunami

there is joy in sucking dick
Proof is in the puddin

The bit about accountability is a nice nugget of info too. Its like all the things we already know but coming from the horses mouth.
 
V

Vengal

Member
I'd be more curious as to how long they've been cops as well. I grew up with some people that ended up police officers after school and after an extended amount of time as a police officer their views drastically changed.
 
D

Derwind

Member
A lot to digest here but in regards to the unjustly killing black people, that's quite a number of isolated incidents that seem to be had, nothing endemic to the badge at all.
 
Ray Wonder

Ray Wonder

Founder of the Wounded Tagless Children
Obviously that's the case, because they don't actually experience it. They wouldn't know.
 
T

theignoramus

Member
Vengal said:
I'd be more curious as to how long they've been cops as well. I grew up with some people that ended up police officers after school and after an extended amount of time as a police officer their views drastically changed.
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On the more bizarre side of things:
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I dont get the 30 point separation between cops & the public in views on assault weapons.
 
N

Nepenthe

Member
You're telling me minorities are once again right about how the system and culture treats them?

Gee, wonder when we'll start listening to those who have a perfect fucking batting average.
 
A

Aselith

Member
Electric Eye said:
They also hire a lot of ex military in fact the prefer it and so they already come in with a mentality of not trusting those that don't look like you.
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Ex-military are generally much better at not killing people because soldiers are much better trained and that carries forward into civilian policing from what I understand.
 
T

trembli0s

Member
theignoramus said:
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On the more bizarre side of things:
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I dont get the 30 point separation between cops & the public in views on assault weapons.
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This is what's really frightening imo. Longer exposure to criminal activity leads to cops relying on their implicit biases to justify their views. It's a vicious feedback cycle.
 
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