What do the new president and 80 percent of cops have in common? They believe that the media targets them unfairly.
On top of the stresses inherent to the job, cops also wrestle with whether or not their actions will get a fair shake in the press. And it’s a widespread problem.
“About eight-in-ten officers (81 percent) who work in departments of 100 or more sworn officers say the media generally treat the police unfairly, according to the survey,” Pew Research reports. “Just 18% of officers disagree. About four-in-ten officers (42 percent) strongly agree that the media are unfair to police.”
The size of the department plays a significant factor in shaping that opinion.
The larger the police force, the more likely they were to report unfair treatment from the media. More than half of forces surveyed, each with more than 2,600 police, felt strongly about media bias, according to Pew, compared with only 35 percent in agencies with fewer than 300 officers.
More than a question of popularity, resentment toward the media also influences the mindset of the police. An officer angry about press bias is much more likely to report frustration and even anger with his job.
“Roughly two-thirds of officers (65 percent) who strongly agree that the media treat police unfairly say their work always or often makes them feel frustrated,” Pew Research reports, “and about one-in-three (31 percent) say it makes them feel angry.”
Over the last eight years, police have experienced increased scrutiny on everything from militarization to race relations. And now the Trump administration has charged the already beleaguered police to get even tougher on crime.
The next four years could witness even more hostility between press and the police in pursuit of that mission.
Philip Wegmann is a commentary writer for the Washington Examiner.
