An increasing number of Michigan communities are implementing strategies to enhance police-community interactions, with local authorities witnessing a rise in trust among residents for law enforcement where specific practices have been established.
The recent Michigan Public Policy Survey, executed by the University of Michigan’s Center for Local, State, and Urban Policy, identifies two particular policies that may correlate with this heightened trust: community policing and law enforcement training focused on de-escalation and bias recognition.
Statewide, 84% of local officials either strongly or somewhat concur that most of their constituents trust police officers in their area, but this figure climbs to 95% where these practices have been embraced.
“Although we cannot definitively assert that (these policies) lead to increased public trust, the correlation persists even when considering various jurisdiction traits such as population size, demographic makeup, and geographical area,” the researchers noted in the survey.
The results indicate significant increases in the adoption of several practices related to police-community relations from 2015 to 2024. Throughout Michigan, the reported application of de-escalation strategies, cultural awareness, and bias training has more than doubled, rising from approximately a quarter of jurisdictions to over half.
In a similar vein, the reported implementation of policies requiring independent inquiries into officer-involved injuries or fatalities has also more than doubled.
“Numerous local leaders statewide informed us in 2015 that their communities were likely to implement some of these policing strategies, and the 2024 survey indicates they have followed through,” stated Debra Horner, the survey’s senior program manager.
Nevertheless, the survey reveals significantly less progress by law enforcement agencies in making policing policies accessible for public scrutiny, such as through online platforms, or in establishing civilian oversight boards to guide police. The percentage of jurisdictions reporting either having or being inclined to implement such strategies has diminished over the last decade.
The research highlights disparities in perspectives between local officials and law enforcement leaders—the latter tend to have much more positive views about police-community relations. Additionally, jurisdictions with higher percentages of Black residents typically report lower evaluations of that relationship.
“What struck me was how differently local officials, police, and prosecutors perceive the situation,” remarked Micaja Verna, a student policy analyst at the Center for Local, State, and Urban Policy. “Police leaders are considerably more hopeful, but prosecutors and local officials don’t always share the same viewpoint. This indicates that there’s still work needed to restore trust and ensure reform initiatives align with the realities faced by communities.”
CLOSUP, affiliated with U-M’s Ford School of Public Policy, collected survey responses from April to June 2024 from county, city, township, and village officials representing 1,307 jurisdictions statewide. It also received input from 54 county sheriffs, 234 police chiefs or public safety directors, and 55 elected county prosecutors—a response rate of 58%.
The latest phase of the survey initiative was supported by a grant from the Joyce Foundation.