Most Philadelphians have considerable respect for police - but that goodwill falls off when it comes to trusting officers to use good judgment in deciding whom to pat down as part of the city's controversial "stop-and-frisk" policy.

The finding was part of a poll released Wednesday by the Pew Charitable Trusts' Philadelphia Research Initiative.

In a poll of 1,604 residents conducted from Jan. 31 to Feb. 13, 70 percent said they had a "great deal" or "a good amount" of respect for police.

In addition, 61 percent of residents said they approved of the city's stop-and-frisk policy, which allows officers to approach individuals suspected of criminal activity and search them for weapons.

But only 43 percent said police used good judgment in deciding whom to stop and frisk, with opinions differing sharply along racial lines.

Among white respondents, 57 percent said police used good judgment, with 15 percent taking an opposite view.

Among African Americans, 30 percent said they trusted officers' judgment, while 44 percent did not.

And 48 percent of Hispanic residents in poll said they trusted the police to use good judgment, while 36 percent did not.

Trust among younger residents, ages 18 to 34, also leaned against police, with 37 percent saying officers used good judgment and 42 percent disagreeing.

Bilal Qayyum, an antiviolence activist in the African American community, said that while he supported the police, he had opposed the stop-and-frisk policy from the start.

Qayyum said the practice affected the African American and Latino communities the most.

"I am against this being profiling of kids of color," he said. The practice "opens up the door to abuse by police."

The poll did not include the sentiments of Asian residents, but Helen Gym, a board member of Asian Americans United in Philadelphia's Chinatown, said there had been concern among new immigrants about the practice.

One problem, she said, is the language barrier. "Part of it is just being able to communicate with the police officer in question, like, 'What's happening, and why am I being stopped?' and 'What's going on, and what's the policy?' " she said. "For new immigrants to the city, this can be intimidating and frightening."

Mayor Nutter, who declared a "crime emergency" when he was elected three years ago, has championed the stop-and-frisk policy. He and Police Commissioner Charles H. Ramsey have credited it with driving down violent crime in the city.

But the practice faces a major test in federal court. In November, civil rights lawyers, working with the American Civil Liberties Union, filed a federal complaint accusing Philadelphia police of targeting people to frisk solely because of race.

J. Whyatt Mondesire, president of the Philadelphia chapter of the NAACP, said he understood why there was a low level of support for stop-and-frisk among African Americans.

"African Americans are the more likely subjects of a police stop where there is no arrest and no probable cause," he said. "This creates distrust and also some resentment toward the political forces who put it in place."

Larry Eichel, project director of Pew's Philadelphia Research Initiative, said this year's poll also showed an easing in perceptions about the city's crime problem.

When people were asked to name one or two things they liked least about living in Philadelphia, crime was at the top of the list in each of the last three polls, Eichel said. But the percentage of people mentioning crime has been on the decline. This year, it was 29 percent, compared with 35 percent in 2010 and 45 percent in 2009.

"It's clear from the poll that crime is not at the front of many people's minds as a few years ago," Eichel said.

The Pew report noted that reported crimes in 2010 were lower than they were five or 10 years ago but little-changed from 2009. Compared with 2009, the report said, homicides last year were up 1 percent, violent crime was down 3 percent, and major crime overall was up 2 percent.

According to the poll, 57 percent of respondents said they felt completely or pretty safe in their neighborhoods at night, while 38 percent felt a little unsafe or not safe at all. Five percent said they did not know or declined to answer the question.

The poll's margin of error was plus or minus 2.5 percentage points among all respondents and higher for the racial and age groups.

Contact staff writer Jennifer Lin at 215-854-5659 or [email protected].