The mission of policing is “to protect and serve,” but recent events suggest that many
Americans, and especially Black Americans, do not feel protected from the police.
Understanding police‐related fear is important because it may impact civilians' health, daily
lives, and policy attitudes. To examine the prevalence, sources, and consequences of both
personal and altruistic fear of the police, we surveyed a nationwide sample (N= 1,150),
which included comparable numbers of Black (N= 517) and White (N= 492) respondents …