January 5, 2017 12:14PM 

# 79% Want Police Misconduct Investigated by Independent Agencies 

By [Emily Ekins](https://www.cato.org/people/emily-ekins) 

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In [most jurisdictions](http://www.usccr.gov/pubs/guard/main.htm), local police departments typically conduct internal investigations of police officer shooting and misconduct complaints.[\[1\]](http://www.usccr.gov/pubs/guard/main.htm) However, 79% of Americans would prefer that an “outside law enforcement agency take over the investigation” when an officer is suspected of criminal wrongdoing. Alternatively, 21% favor police departments conducting internal investigations of their own officers.

The proposal to have outside investigations of misconduct, rather than internal department investigations, enjoys broad public support. Overwhelming majorities across demographics and partisan groups, including majorities of blacks (82%), whites (81%), Hispanics (66%), Republicans (76%), independents (77%), and Democrats (83%), all favor outside investigations and prosecutions of officers accused of misconduct.

*[Find the full public opinion report here](https://www.cato.org/publications/working-paper/policing-america-understanding-public-attitudes-toward-police-results).*

div*For public opinion analysis [sign up here to receive Cato’s upcoming digest of **Public Opinion Insights** and public opinion studies.](https://www.cato.org/public-opinion-insights-newsletter)*

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The Cato Institute/​YouGov national survey of 2000 adults was conducted June 6–22, 2016 using a sample drawn from YouGov’s online panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. YouGov uses a method called sample matching, and restrictions are put in place to ensure that only the people selected and contacted by YouGov are allowed to participate. The margin of sampling error for all respondents is +/-3.19 percentage points. The full report can be found [here](https://www.cato.org/publications/working-paper/policing-america-understanding-public-attitudes-toward-police-results), toplines results can be found [here](https://object.cato.org/sites/cato.org/files/policing-in-america/policing-in-america-survey-toplines.pdf), full methodological details can be found [here](https://object.cato.org/sites/cato.org/files/policing-in-america/policing-in-america-survey-methodology.pdf).

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div[\[1\]](http://www.usccr.gov/pubs/guard/main.htm) USCCR, “Revisiting Who Is Guarding the Guardians? A Report on Police Practices and Civil Rights in America,” U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, November 2000, [http://​www​.usc​cr​.gov/​p​u​b​s​/​g​u​a​r​d​/​m​a​i​n.htm](http://www.usccr.gov/pubs/guard/main.htm). 

##### Related Tags 

[Government and Politics](https://www.cato.org/government-politics), [Constitutional Law](https://www.cato.org/constitutional-law), [Robert A. Levy Center for Constitutional Studies](https://www.cato.org/robert-levy-center-constitutional-studies), [Center for Representative Government](https://www.cato.org/center-representative-government), [Public Opinion](https://www.cato.org/public-opinion) 

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