LOS ANGELES — Voters in Los Angeles have serious concerns about the Los Angeles Police Department but little interest in shrinking its size amid worries over rising crime, according to a new poll by UC Berkeley and The Times.
Fewer than a third of the city’s registered voters surveyed said they approve of the LAPD’s overall performance — a startling drop from 2009, when a Times poll found 77% of people approved of the department under the leadership of William J. Bratton, an influential chief who oversaw dramatic reforms.
And a majority of respondents believe LAPD officers are tougher on Black residents than other Angelenos. Nearly half said such racial inequities are the result of systemic problems within the department, not just the behavior of individual officers.
