Hispanic Opinion of Police Closer to the Views Held By Blacks Rather than Whites (1136 hits)
(Taylor Media Services) Hispanic Americans appear to be developing attitudes towards the police and the nation’s criminal justice system similar to the low opinion generally held by Blacks rather than the high opinion generally held by whites. That was the chief finding of two nationwide surveys made public last Tuesday by the Pew Research Center
When asked if they had a great deal of fair amount of confidence that the police in their local communities do a good in enforcing the law, 61 percent of the Hispanics surveyed said “yes.” This compares with 78 percent of whites who answered yes and only 55 percent of Blacks who answered yes. On the issue of police brutality, only 46 percent of Hispanics said they were confident police will not use excessive force on suspects. Meanwhile, only 38 percent of Blacks said they did not fear excessive force by police while 73 percent of whites did not fear excessive force.
Finally, 46 percent said they believed the police will treat Hispanic equally. This compares to 74 percent of whites and just 37 percent of African Americans who felt Blacks and whites were treated equally by the police. The full Pew Research Center report is available online at www.pewhispanic.org .
