HEG polls Georgians on Ferguson, confidence in police force

The Hicks Evaluation Group (HEG) conducted a survey over the weekend on Georgians' views about the case of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, the increasing militarization of police force in U.S., police profiling, and confidence levels in the police force.   The survey included 717 randomly selected participants.

The results of the poll certainly underscore the racial differences still very present in Georgia. Looking at the responses, one might assume that Georgia's whites and blacks live in two different countries.

 ”Simply put, Black and White voters in Georgia see the police in general and Ferguson specifically in very different ways. In this survey, it’s not about income, gender or even political affiliation. It’s about race, said HEG pollster Fredrick Hicks. ”Surprisingly, White voters across the political and income spectrums responded very similarly on the survey."

HEG found that 42 percent of Georgians are "very confident" that the police will protect them from violent crime; "not confident" or "not very confident" were 24.1 percent.  About 40 percent of African-Americans and 16.5 percent of whites are "not" and "not very confident" that police will protect them.  When asked about local police departments having access to military-grade equipment, 36 percent said they either "somewhat" or "strongly oppose" it, while 64.1 percent "somewhat" or "strongly support" it. In terms of racial divide, 56 percent of blacks oppose police force with military capabilities and 74.7 percent of whites support it.

HEG also asked about the high profile case in Ferguson, Missouri, where unarmed black teenager Michael Brown was killed by a white police Officer Darren Wilson in early August of 2014. The grand jury in Ferguson recently decided not to indict Wilson because of the lack of reliable witnesses and evidence against the officer.  Among Georgians, 68 percent agree with the grand jury decision and 32 percent disagree.  Again, the differences fall along the racial lines: 28.6 percent of African-Americans agree with Ferguson decision and 71.4 percent disagree. Among whites, 87.9 percent agree and only 12.1 percent disagree with the grand jury decision.

Some of the questions and answers are below, for more details and crosstabs click here.

How much confidence do you have that the police will protect you from violent crime: very, somewhat, not much, not at all?

Not confident – 7.5%

Not very confident – 16.6%

Somewhat confident – 33.6%

Very confident – 42.3 %

African American not confident – 12.8%

African American not very confident – 27.3%

African American somewhat confident – 36.6%

African American very confident – 23.3%

White not confident – 5.1%

White not very confident – 11.4%

White somewhat confident – 31%

White very confident - 52.5%

 There is a lot of discussion about local police departments having military grade equipment. Generally speaking, do you support or oppose local police departments having military weapons and vehicles such as assault rifles and tanks?

Somewhat oppose – 18.4%

Strongly oppose – 17.6%

Somewhat support – 21.8%

Strongly support – 42.3%

African American somewhat oppose – 26.9%

African American strongly oppose – 29.1%

African American somewhat support – 24.2%

African American strongly support – 19.8%

White somewhat oppose – 13.8%

White strongly oppose – 11.4%

White somewhat support – 20.4%

White strongly support – 54.3%

As you may know, a grand jury in Ferguson, Missouri decided not to indict police officer Darren Wilson in the killing of African American teenager Michael Brown. Do you agree or disagree with the decision NOT to indict Officer Wilson?

Agree – 68.1%

Disagree – 31.9%

African American agree – 28.6%

African American disagree – 71.4%

White agree – 68.1%

White disagree – 31.9%

Generally speaking, do you believe that police are MORE likely to use deadly force against a minority, such as an African American or Latino, than against a White person?

No – 54%

Not sure – 11.9%

Yes – 34.2%

African American no – 19.8%

African American not sure – 9.3%

African American yes – 70.9%

White no – 72.1%

White not sure- 12.7%

White yes – 15.2%