Overall, 25% of Americans say they have a great deal of confidence in the police, 27% quite a lot, 30% “some,” 16% “very little” and 2% “none.” The combined 18% who have very little or no confidence in police is the highest Gallup has measured to date. The full results for the trend are shown at the end of this article.

The actions of police in certain U.S. cities — including Ferguson, Missouri; Staten Island, New York; and North Charleston, South Carolina — have recently come under scrutiny after black men were killed while being apprehended by white police officers. These events likely contributed to the decline in confidence in police, although it is important to note that Americans’ trust in police has not been fundamentally shaken — it remains high in an absolute sense, despite being at a historical low.

Americans’ confidence in the police was last at 52% in 1993, the first time Gallup included police in the list of institutions. That poll was conducted as four white Los Angeles police officers were being tried in federal court for violating Rodney King’s civil rights in the 1991 beating of King. The four had earlier been acquitted of criminal charges in state court, which provoked riots in 1992. Two of the four officers were later found guilty of violating King’s civil rights.