Case Study

Public Safety, Police Violence, & Systemic Racism

A survey focused on the impact of the aftermath and events following the killing of George Floyd.

In the aftermath of George Floyd’s killing, protests erupted at home and abroad to fight against police violence and in defense of Black lives. Public polling on this topic was one-dimensional, simply measuring support for Black Lives Matter, favorability toward police, and views toward the term “Defund the Police.” These questions are often written by pollsters who do not conduct qualitative research among diverse communities. Additionally, the media often report these events and poll findings narrowly through a political or adversarial lens. We wanted to contribute substantive research to inform media and public policy discussions.

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Project Tasks

Asking reporters what they wanted to learn about opinion
Questionnaire development
Data collection management
Public report
Sharing results with news media and the public

Process & Approach

How do we move forward on the key policy issues, when the storytellers (policymakers and media) don’t understand how the public thinks and feels? Policymakers are affected by perceptions of public opinion. If they think the public is against “defunding the police,” they too, will resist change. If they understand where the public truly is – with millions of Americans feeling unable to rely on their local police – and majority support for new ways of responding to emergencies, the opportunities for progress open up.

We had to ask new questions that more fundamentally and meaningfully get underneath these issues. In crafting the questionnaire, we drew upon all of our qualitative research, especially among communities of color, on issues related to safety.

We worked with a Black colleague, Scott Simpson, to help us brainstorm and review survey questions. We went into the field quickly with a national survey of adults, including oversamples to ensure enough respondents to report by race and ethnicity.

The Challenges

Public polling on this topic was one-dimensional, simply measuring support for Black Lives Matter, favorability toward police, and views toward the term “Defund the Police.” These questions are often written by pollsters who do not conduct qualitative research among diverse communities. Additionally, the media often report these events and poll findings through a political or adversarial lens. Yet, police violence strikes at the core of fundamental societal issues related to public safety and systemic racism.

The Questions

What proportion of the public feels safe and protected by police?
How many Black Americans have had a police officer point a gun at them?
How many women feel that calling the police will help the situation, if they were to face sexual assault or domestic violence?
Do people perceive systemic issues behind police violence?
Do people understand the concept behind the phrase “defund the police”?
How many white Americans want to learn about their own biases as a result of these events? What else do they want to learn?
Can we help inform the media around what people actually want to know about this systemic racism and police violence?

Survey Highlights

Most agreed that cultures of violence, racism, power, and control are reasons for police violence.

46% of Black men in the survey say a police officer has pointed a gun at them or a close loved one
54% of adults say local police make them feel safe – the rest feel a mix of safety and unsafety
46% of women say if they were sexually assaulted, they aren’t sure whether police would help the situation or make things worse
66% support sending a social worker to a call about a homeless person who is loitering, instead of an armed police officer
69% support sending a mental health expert to a situation involving mental health, instead of an armed police officer
73% support sending a health care professional to a medical emergency, instead of an armed police officer

1 in 3 adults say that calling the police in an emergency may make the situation worse or they’re unsure that police would be helpful
1 in 3 say they have felt less safe because they were in the presence of a police officer

What We Learned

One-dimensional public polling makes policy solutions seem controversial.

Much of what policymakers, the media, and the public know about public opinion on any emerging topic comes from a handful of one-dimensional survey research questions that are not informed by qualitative research – nor reflective of diverse audiences. Understanding attitudes toward public safety, police violence, and systemic racism is nearly impossible if we only rely on these smattering of polls. That’s why part of our mission is to get beneath the surface, ask questions from a variety of angles, rooted in qualitative research, from diverse perspectives.

How do we move forward on the key policy issues, when the storytellers (policymakers and media) don’t understand how the public thinks and feels? Policymakers are affected by perceptions of public opinion. If they understand where the public truly is – with millions of Americans unable to rely on their local police – and majority support for new ways of responding to emergencies, the opportunities for progress open up.