Gaps in Abolition: An Analysis of Public Opinion Polling on Movements Against Policing Using Philadelphia as a Case Study

Abstract

This thesis seeks to reveal Black Americans’ jarring attitudes of policing that appear in public opinion polls. The goal of this project is to dispel these seeming contradictions as complexities instead by uncovering the subtleties that lead Black Americans’ to either support or oppose movements against policing using Philadelphia as the primary location of focus. I will focus on opinions of three main movements against policing: defunding the police, redistribution of police funds, and police abolition.