NORFOLK, Va. — The latest report from Old Dominion University researchers explores perceptions of the police among residents of Hampton Roads.
Its takeaways? Some locals say the trust in police is improving.
“I’m always out in the community and when I see those same cops they remember me, they remember my name. They want to have a conversation," Hampton resident Randy Bowman said.
Bowman owns a restaurant in Hampton, and is encouraging people who come in to know their law enforcement officers.
“To understand what our police is doing, as well as what the police chief is bringing to the table," Bowman said.
But ODU's Perceptions of the Police report shows differences in the level of trust between people of different races and ethnicities.
“Only 14% or so of Black or African American respondents said that they trust the police a great deal, compared to almost 48% of White respondents, so that’s a huge difference in terms of trusting the police," said Dr. Tancy Vandecar-Burdin.
She's the director of ODU's Social Science Research Center.
The report says, overall, "72% of respondents reported that they are somewhat or very satisfied with the police and this is relatively consistent over the past few years."
The level of trust also varies by city, with the highest percentages in Virginia Beach and Chesapeake, but the lowest in Portsmouth and Hampton.
“Lowest in Portsmouth at about 62% and Hampton at 70%," Dr. Vandercar-Burdin said.
NAACP Portsmouth Branch President James Boyd believes the trust can increase based on efforts within local police departments.
“Not only through transparency, but being intentional about changing institutional customs, norms, and practices that have attempted to hide to protect individuals in the force that should not be there," he said.
This year, researchers said they also noticed an increase in the number of people who said they had a negative experience with police or know someone who was in that situation.
“Went from about 1/3, which we saw in the previous two years, to over 40%. So I wonder if the coverage of the police and the staffing issues are maybe kind of feeding into that," Vandercar-Burdin said.
ODU officials said they hope the survey and report will open up a larger conversation with law enforcement.
“Here are the perceptions," Vandecar-Burdin said, "And how do we maybe move the needle to improve community-police relations?"
ODU officials say they called 639 people from across Hampton Roads for the survey between May 31 and Aug. 19, to conduct this report from different backgrounds and ethnicities.
ODU's full report also provides the percentages of people who replied based on race and ethnicity.
The "Perceptions of the Police” report is part of ODU’s Social Science Research Center’s 13th annual Life in Hampton Roads Report series.