Public Opinion on Reforms in Policing

Police Chief Magazine|Topics|Criminal Justice Reform|Public Opinion on Reforms in Policing

Public Opinion on Reforms in Policing

Ronald Weitzer, Professor of Sociology, and Steven A. Tuch, Professor of Sociology, George Washington University, Washington, D.C.

What specific changes, if any, does the public want to see in police practices? Surprisingly, this question has seldom been investigated. Rather, it is simply assumed that the public overwhelmingly favors any and all reforms—but this is an untested assumption.