New study: Most Hispanics have confidence in local police

As reported by the Chronicle's blog:

April 07, 2009

Most Latinos have confidence in their local police departments, but just half are confident that police will treat them fairly if they have a run-in with the law, according to a new Pew Hispanic Center study.

The report found that Latinos are more suspicious of local police than are non-Hispanic whites -- but more trusting of law enforcement than African Americans are.

Here are key findings from the study:

Six-in-ten (61%) Hispanics say they have a great deal or a fair amount of confidence that the police in their local communities will do a good job enforcing the law, compared with 78% of whites and 55% of blacks. Just under half (46%) of Hispanics say they have confidence that police officers will not use excessive force on suspects, compared with 73% of whites and 38% of blacks. Similarly, just under half of Hispanics say they are confident that police officers will treat Hispanics fairly (46%) and that courts will treat Hispanics fairly (49%). In comparison, 74% of whites and 37% of blacks say they have confidence that the police will treat blacks and whites equally.

The report also finds that more than half (56%) of Latinos say they or an immediate family member had contact with the criminal justice system in the previous five years. Contact includes reporting a crime to the police, serving on a jury, serving as a sworn witness in court, attending court on a criminal matter, being questioned by the police, being arrested, being on probation or parole, or serving time in jail or prison.