Recent years, marked by police-involved deaths of Black individuals like Eric Gardner (2014), Alton Sterling (2016), George Floyd (2020), Breonna Taylor (2020), and Daunte Wright (2021), have seen a surprising trend – Americans, especially the youngest cohort, are showing more faith in law enforcement.
A fresh Gallup survey reveals a significant rise in confidence, particularly among those aged between 18 and 34, with 43% expressing trust in the police in 2024 compared to just 27% a year earlier. This marked the largest jump across all age groups considered by the analytics firm. Those aged 35 to 54 saw a mere 3% increase in confidence, from 41% to 44%, while individuals aged 55 and above saw a boost from 54% to 61%.
With most individuals aged 18 to 34 falling within Generation Z (born between 1997 and 2012, now aged 12 to 27), it’s evident that this younger generation’s view of law enforcement has seen a positive shift over the past year, despite the majority still harboring mistrust towards the police.
For the overall U.S. adult population assessed by Gallup, confidence in the police escalated from 43% to 51%, marking the largest increase in positive perception among the 17 major U.S. institutions surveyed by the company. Notably, 25% have “a great deal” of confidence in the police, while 26% have “quite a lot.”
Whilst white adults continue to hold the highest trust level in law enforcement (54% in 2024 versus 49% in 2023), people of color have shown the most notable increase, from 31% to 44% this year.
Looking at political affiliations, Republicans largely lead with 62% expressing confidence in the police (+2% from last year). Democrats stand at 45% (+5% from 2023), while Independents show a slightly higher figure at 49% (+12% from last year).
The surge in trust in the police is notable after a dip to 48% following George Floyd’s murder in 2020. Subsequent protests against police brutality and racial discrimination impacted confidence levels. However, by 2021, trust had rebounded to 51%, only to decline again in 2022 and hit a record low of 43% last year.
Among the institutions covered in Gallup’s analysis, only small businesses (68%) and the military (61%) garnered majority-level confidence from Americans.