officers - The Black Vault

: .
. .Amon:g Anglos, 19% said it was
~· very common and 39% fairly com­
. mon.
. Among Latinos, 33% said it was
: very common and 27% fairly com-·
mon.
Among blacks, 44% said bruta1ity
is very common and 36% fairly
common.
A plurality of those surveyed
said they believe that the problem
of Los Angeles police officers
striking suspects because they
think the suspects will not be dealt
• with appropriately by the courts is
increasing.
Forty-seven percent said such
incidents of "street justice" have
increased over the last 10 years.
By contrast, only 3% of Los
Angeles officers polled by The
Times last summer said street jus­
. tice had increased; 67% safd it had
decreased.
Despite the evident gulf between
citizens and police on perceptions
of police brutality and honesty,
residents still have considerable
confidence in their Police Department's
ability to protect them from
crime and help them in other ways.
Overall, 54% of those surveyed
reported some confidence, and an
additional 22% reported "a lot" of
confidence that police will protect
them from crime. .
Amajority of Latinos and Anglos
and a plurality of blacks
reported a somewhat or very favorable
impression of the Police
Department "when it comes to
. holding down crime." Among all
L respondents, 39% reported a somewhat
favorable impression and
13% a very favorable impression of
the department's crime-fighting
ability.
Moreover, 44% reported a somewhat
favorable impression of the
police "when it comes to helping
citizens." An additional 15% said
they had a very favorable impression.
But in response to the comprellensive
question, "Do you approve
or disapprove of the way the Los
Angeles Police Department is ~o-
•
ing its job?" city residents were
nearly evenly split, with 46% saying
they approved and 47% reporting
that they disapproved.
This represented a nose-dive
from a measurement taken in
1988, when The Times Poll found
that 74% of city residents approved
of the job the department
wasdoing. ·
In last week's poll, Anglos were
evenly divided on the department's
performance. Latinos approved by
a margin of 51% to 41%. Blacks
disapproved by a margin of nearly
3 to 1. .
Gates' approval 1'ating has also
plummeted.
Thirty-three percent said they
• GATES UNDER ARE
Several hundred people rally at
Parker Center to demand Daryl
F. Gates' resignation. Bl
approved of the job the chief was
doing. Fifty-five percent said they
disapproved.
Approval was highest among
Anglos-with 36% pleased with
the chief-and lowest among
blacks, with 23% endorsing his
-performance.
By contrast, the 1988 Times Poll
found that 61% of city residents,
including a majority of blacks,
approved of the job Gates was
doing.
How ever, there is minimal support
for his immediate resignation,
favored by 13% of those
polled last week; and only moderate
support, an additional 27%. for
his resignation if an investigation
proves there was wrongdoing by
police. Slightly less than half of
those polled said he should not
resign.
Mayor Tom Bradley appears to
have weathered the King incident
unscathed, with 61% of city residents
approving of the way he is
doing his job.
The ·Times Poll is directed by
John Brennan. In conducting this
poll, The Times interviewed 718
residents in the city of Los Angeles.
•
The overall margin of error is
plus or minus 4 percentage points.
The margin for subgroups is high­
·er. For Anglos, the margin is plus
or minus 6 points; for blacks it is
plus or minus 8 points. For Latinos,
the margin is plus or minus 9
points.
Assistant Times poll director Susan
Pinkus contributed to this story.