Criminal Justice

The public is more likely to have heard “a lot” about ongoing confrontations between police and protesters than several other stories.

55% of U.S. adults now express at least some support for the Black Lives Matter movement, down from 67% in June.

While declining shares give police forces positive marks for their use of force, treatment of racial groups and officer accountability, there is little support for cuts in spending on local policing.

Americans who recently protested are more likely to live in an urban area and to identify with or lean toward the Democratic Party.

Six-in-ten black adults say it is important for houses of worship to address “political topics such as immigration and race relations.”

As demonstrations continue across the country to protest the death of George Floyd, a black man killed while in Minneapolis police custody, Americans see the protests  both as a reaction to Floyd’s death and an expression of frustration over longstanding issues.

In April, 78% of Americans overall – but 56% of black Americans – said they had confidence in police officers to act in the public's best interests.

Black adults are about five times as likely as whites to say they’ve been unfairly stopped by police because of their race or ethnicity.

There were 1,501 black prisoners for every 100,000 black adults in 2018, down sharply from 2,261 black inmates per 100,000 black adults in 2006.

The use of at-home DNA testing kits has raised concerns about whether consumers are comfortable with the use of their data by police.