Each year the Gallup Organization, Inc., asks the American people about their confidence in the major institutions of society. Twenty-nine percent of those polled in 2003 said that they had a great deal or quite a lot of confidence in the criminal justice system, with 45 percent reporting some confidence. (See Table 9.16.) Those with less education and lower income levels had the least confidence in the criminal justice system. Those aged 18 to 29 years old had the highest level of confidence (35 percent) of any age group. Of Democrats, 29 percent expressed a great deal of confidence, compared with 32 percent of Republicans.

In 2003 one-fourth of all respondents had either very little or no confidence in the criminal justice system. Fewer whites (24 percent) than blacks (42 percent) had little or no confidence in the system. Fewer Republicans (24 percent) than Democrats (26 percent) expressed a lack of confidence in the criminal justice system. Those who earned less than $20,000 a year (35 percent) were more likely than those who earned more than $75,000 a year (19 percent) to feel little or no confidence in the system.