National Poll Shows 82 Percent Favorable Opinion Of Police Officers, A Law Enforcement Alliance Says

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) -- Results of a new national poll shows support of local police officers, according to an alliance of law enforcement officers.

The United Coalition of Public Safety announced findings Wednesday, saying that 82 percent of those surveyed believe that their local officers are honest and trustworthy.

More than 85 percent said they believe that public safety officers care about the communities they took an oath to serve and protect, the UCOPS said.

"We are extremely grateful for the high level of trust and support Americans have for their public safety officers, it is quite humbling," alliance president Paul Kelly said in a statement. "Yet we also know there are segments of our community that struggle to trust law enforcement and we are committed to improving how they feel."

UCOPS said the survey helped leaders identify areas for improvement after finding that 62 percent of registered voters who identified as African American had a favorable opinion of local officers.

Coalition members held a press conference Wednesday calling for a national summit to build bridges and improve empathy between police officers and communities.

"In the coming months, UCOPS will host a national summit to bring together frontline officers, organizations, academics and solution-oriented community stakeholders to have a frank and constructive dialogue based upon understanding, healing, mutual respect and open communication to improve trust amongst all stakeholders committed to safe neighborhoods," said Vincent J. Vallelong, Vice President of the Sergeants Benevolent Association of the New York Police Department.

The Association for Los Angeles Deputy Sheriffs and Los Angeles Police Protective League are among current participating organizations in UCOPS.

New Bridge Strategy, a national opinion research firm, gathered the results after surveying 1,000 registered voters throughout the country from Jan. 7-13 by phone and online panels. The margin of error is plus or minus 3.5 percent for the overall sample. That value will vary for sub-groups.