Public Respect for Police in US Rebounds to Highest Level in 49 Years

76 percent of Americans who expressed a "great deal of respect" for police is significantly higher now than in any measurement taken since the 1990s and just one point below the high recorded 49 years ago, according to Gallup report.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — Three in four Americans say they have great respect for police, the highest level since 1967 and a dramatic recovery from a year ago, when attitudes toward law enforcement fell to their lowest level in over two decades, the Gallup organization reported in a poll released Monday.

"The latest figures, from Gallup's October 5-9 annual poll on crime, show Americans' respect for police increased as the number of on-duty police officers who were shot and killed was on the rise," a press release accompanying the poll explained.

The 76 percent of respondents who expressed a "great deal of respect" for police is significantly higher now than in any measurement taken since the 1990s and just one point below the high recorded 49 years ago, Gallup’s release noted.

In 2015, Americans' respect for police hit a 22-year low amid a spate of high-profile police killings of unarmed African-American suspects, the poll noted.

Gallup attributed the increase in professed respect to a debate in the United States over police practices in incidents that have put officers and their supervisors on the defensive, politically and while on duty.

The poll also broke down attitudes toward police, finding that respect for police increased among whites (80 percent, or 11 points from last year) as well as nonwhites (67 percent, up 14 points).