October 15th, 2018, Jamie Ballard
Denver residents are most likely to say their city has a positive relationship with police
Relationships between American citizens and police officers can often be complicated and at times, contentious. By a wide margin, the city least likely to say they have a positive relationship with their police force is Chicago. Almost one-third (31%) say their city’s population has a bad relationship with police, though a larger contingent (57%) says the relationship is good.
Of residents in the 20 most populous metropolitan areas, Denver residents are the most likely to say that their city’s population has a good relationship with the police of their city. Almost eight out of ten (79%) Denver residents say the relationship between their police force and citizens is “very” or “somewhat” good, while only 13% say it’s bad. Boston and Orlando also have similarly positive relationships with their police, with 78% and 77% respectively characterizing it as good.
Houston (76%), Dallas (75%), Detroit (74%), Miami (72%), Los Angeles (71%), San Francisco (70%) and Washington DC (70%) are also overwhelmingly likely to say their cities have a positive relationship with their police forces.
Portland was also one of the cities least likely to say they have a good relationship with their police force, though two-thirds (66%) say the relationship is good. About one-quarter (24%) of Portland’s population say their city has a bad relationship with their police force.
The respondents surveyed in this YouGov Citybus study reside in the following Designated Market Areas: Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Dallas - Fort Worth, Denver, Detroit, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami - Fort Lauderdale, Minneapolis - Saint Paul, New York, Orlando - Daytona Beach Melbourne, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Portland - Oregon, San Francisco - Oakland - San Jose, Seattle - Tacoma, Tampa - Saint Petersburg, Washington DC.
Learn more about YouGov Omnibus and see more coverage from the Citybus study here.
Image: Getty