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Conclusion <br />Seventy-nine percent of the MCCA agencies that responded to our survey indicated they have some type <br />of civilian oversight body in their community. At one time or another, it is safe to say that all of the other <br />agencies have had a conversation about creating a civilian oversight body in their city. It is important to have <br />an ongoing conversation about how to ensure that police are held accountable for their actions. It is also a <br />difficult conversation about extremely complicated work. And the conversation most often takes place in less <br />than ideal circumstances. NACOLE found that 49 percent of agencies' oversight bodies were established <br />following high -profile incidents and 30 percent from concerns about racial violence.zz <br />There is little doubt that conversations about police accountability need to continue and should be a high <br />priority. A July 2017 Gallup Poll indicated that 57 percent of Americans had a great deal or quite a lot of <br />confidence in the police. However there are continuing gaps between minority groups and White people <br />who have a great deal or a lot of confidence in the police. Black respondents' confidence in law enforcement <br />was only 30 percent, Hispanic respondents' was 45 percent, and White respondents' was 61 percent.za <br />A 2016 CATO Institute poll found that 46 percent of Americans (including 64 percent of African Americans) <br />say the police are "generally not" held accountable for misconduct, and 79 percent of Americans support <br />outside law enforcement agencies conducting these investigations.24 The question for police is how to <br />engage the community in a way that helps close the gaps that exist between White community members <br />and racial minorities in confidence and accountability. <br />This is not a challenge for the police alone but also for local government generally and for civilian oversight <br />bodies. The steps that have been taken so far have not had much effect on confidence and perceptions <br />of accountability. Have the solutions fallen short because they are the wrong ideas? Have they been <br />implemented in a half-hearted way? Have they been appropriately resourced? <br />These are important questions that require police leaders and the community to work together to resolve. <br />22. DeAngelis, Rosenthal, and Buchner, Civilian Oversight. <br />23. At 57 percent the police are in third place behind the military (72 percent) and small business (70 percent) in a list <br />of 14 institutions with religious institutions (41 percent) in fourth place and the US Supreme Court(40 percent) in fifth <br />place. Newport, "Americans' Confidence." <br />24. Elkins, Policing in America. <br />65A-42 <br />