Poll: Americans want to reform the criminal justice system — but they can't decide how

Americans are divided on how to fix our criminal justice system, Gallup poll results released Friday reveal. While nearly half (49 percent) say the primary goal should be "strengthening law and order through more police and greater enforcement of the laws," almost as many (43 percent) want to start with "reducing bias against minorities in the criminal justice system by reforming court and police practices."

Answers mostly split along partisan lines, with Republicans tending to favor law and order and Democrats leaning toward bias reduction. Broken down by race, the survey found white and nonwhite respondents with mirror-image views: Some 56 percent of whites picked law and order while 57 percent of minorities want to see less bias.

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