On the Robustness of Black Americans’ Support for the Police: Evidence From a National Experiment

Abstract

Recent polls reveal a complex picture of policing attitudes in Black America. Although most Black Americans are afraid of the police, most also prefer to maintain (or increase) local police presence and spending. Are these paradoxical policy preferences artifacts of the questions used in Gallup and Pew polls—questions that fail to disentangle assumptions about trends in crime and police reform? We tested this experimentally using a nationwide survey (N = 1,100) with comparable numbers of Black (N = 511) and non-Black (N = 589) respondents. We found that Black Americans’ policing preferences were robust—if anything, they were more robust than those of non-Black Americans. Most Black Americans said that even if crime was declining and new police reforms were not enacted, they would still prefer to maintain (or increase) police patrols and spending. Both fear of police and perceived procedural justice predicted policy preferences, regardless of respondents’ race.