Earlier this month, Libertas Institute commissioned a poll of Utah voters on various policing issues. The statistical survey, conducted by Public Policy Polling, involved 1,140 voter responses over landline and cell phone, with a 2.9% margin of error.
The questions asked voters to respond to a number of statements and express whether they agree or disagree. Here are the results:
- Police should not be able to use no-knock warrants, which allow police to forcibly enter a person’s home, unless there is an imminent threat to someone’s life.
- Police officers who have been proven to use excessive force against an individual should be subject to mandatory suspension or termination of their police certification.
- Police officers who witness another officer’s misconduct or excessive force should be required to file a report about that officer.
- People of color are disproportionately negatively affected by the criminal justice system in Utah.
- More police agencies should utilize independent civilian review boards to investigate complaints against officers.
- Police officers should be required to wear a body camera and be prohibited from turning it off in situations where force might be used, or has been used, against another person.
- A police officer who disables or fails to turn on their body camera should be disciplined.
- Instead of having police officers present on K-12 school campuses to deal with discipline issues and petty offenses, schools should instead call local law enforcement as needed to deal with actual crime.
Some additional observations:
- When it comes to requiring body cameras, reporting misconduct, and consequences for the excessive use of force, even Republicans, white voters, and seniors all agree.
- Even a majority of those who strongly disagree with the idea that the criminal justice system disproportionately affects people of color agree that no-knock warrants shouldn’t be used, use of excessive force should be punished, misconduct should be reported by other officers, body cameras should be a requirement and discipline carried out if they are disabled.
- As for law enforcement on school campuses, voters who are more likely to have children on those campuses (ages 30-65) disagree more often with the idea of removing law enforcement then do those who are less likely to have children on school campuses (18-29, 65+).
- Even a majority of Republicans generally agree that no-knock warrants should be banned, civilian review boards utilized, and that there should be consequences for not activating a body camera.
See here for the official results from Public Policy Polling.
