Leaders at the Los Angeles Police Department and other agencies have diversified their ranks, changed tactics and launched community programs in hopes of shedding a longstanding image among some black residents that authorities treat them unfairly – efforts that have drawn praise from others.
But the new survey, published Tuesday by the Center for the Study of Los Angeles at Loyola Marymount University, revealed mixed reviews of law enforcement in Los Angeles County, with the greatest skepticism coming from African Americans.
About half of the 2,425 L.A. County residents polled rated the quality of their police services, along with the conduct and professionalism of officers, as “good,” according to the survey’s results.
But when African Americans were asked to rate police, the percentages dropped. About a quarter of African Americans polled considered the conduct and professionalism of officers “good.” About a third — 31.5% — described officers’ behavior as “poor.” The rest said it was “fair.”
