Although
Americans are open to police using new technologies, they are wary
of military equipment. A majority-54%-of Americans says police
using military weapons and armored vehicles is “going too far”
while 46% say these tools are “necessary for law enforcement
purposes.”
Majorities across racial groups oppose police militarization. Support for police militarization comes from older Americans, conservative Republicans, and those with high school educations or less. Americans over 65 years old support police using military weapons and armored vehicles by a margin of 61% to 39%. However, support for police militarization declines to 43% among those under 55, with 57% opposed. People with high school degrees or less are also more supportive (51%) of police militarization compared to those with college degrees (42%).
Conservatives
and Republicans stand out in supporting police militarization. A
majority of Republicans (65%) support police using military weapons
and armored vehicles, while majorities of Democrats (60%) and
independents (60%) oppose. Among ideological groups, Conservatives
(60%) and Communitarians (51%) say police militarization is
necessary today, while strong majorities of Liberals (75%) and
Libertarians (60%) say it goes too far.69
Notes:
69 See Appendix A for an explanation of ideological clusters.