Showcase of Undergraduate Research and Creative Endeavors (SOURCE)

Does a Republican President in Office Explain the Public’s Confidence in the Police?

What is the relationship between a Republican President in office and the public’s confidence in the police? In this study, we explore whether the public’s confidence in the police is explained by the party in power. Using the public opinion poll data compiled from Gallup over time, we conduct multiple regression analyses to test whether confidence in the police goes up among American citizens during Republican presidential terms compared to Democratic presidential terms. The preliminary zero-order relationship shows that the percentage of confidence in the police is positively correlated with a Republican president in office. In multiple regression analyses, we will examine whether the correlation holds after controlling for potential confounders such as economic growth and presidential approval rating. The results from our analyses will help us understand whether and to what extent the public’s confidence in the police force reflects partisan bias.