1.3 Individuals and variables. A national survey by the Pew Research Center and USA Today, conducted August 20–24, 2014, was based on telephone interviews among a national sample of 1501 adults, 18 years of age or older, living in all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia. Those interviewed were asked to rate the job performance of police forces across the country for holding officers accountable when misconduct occurs. Possible ratings were “Excellent,” “Good,” “Only fair,” and “Poor.” Seventy percent of black respondents gave a rating of “Poor,” while only 27% of white respondents gave a rating of “Poor.” For this study,

16