By Mark Baldassare, Rachel Lawler, and Lynette Ubois, Public Policy Institute of California, June 2, 2020
Millions of Americans across the country have taken to the streets, protesting the death of George Floyd and the deep, persistent conditions of racial injustice that plague our nation. In California, residents have turned out in large crowds, clashing with the police in cities large and small around the state.
Before this latest public outpouring of grief and rage over the death of an African American man in police custody, the PPIC Statewide Survey asked Californians about their perceptions of the police in their local community: Do residents think all racial and ethnic groups are treated fairly? In February, the last time we asked this question, a majority of adults responded that all groups received fair treatment either almost always (30%) or most of the time (31%); only 3 percent volunteer that police always treat groups fairly.
But this overall finding masks significant disagreement, particularly by African Americans, who are far less likely (32%) than others—Latinos (63%), Asian Americans (66%), and whites (66%)—to say that racial and ethnic groups are treated fairly by the police at least most of the time.
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