Which climate of opinion pair is correctly matched with the decades?

• A. 1970s: Increased public support; 1990s: Decreased police suspicion
• B. 1970s: Decreased public support; 1990s: Increased police suspicion
• C. 1980s: Steady relations
• D. 1960s: Dramatic reform era

Answer: (A)

The question tests how public attitudes toward policing shift over time, showing a climate that swings between more supportive views and more wary or critical views as decades pass. In this material, the 1970s are described as a time when public support for police increases, reflecting a period of stabilization and confidence in law enforcement after the turbulence of the 1960s. By the 1990s, the climate is characterized by a move toward less suspicion of police, as reforms and community policing efforts helped improve legitimacy and trust in many areas. So that pairing fits the described trend across those decades: stronger public support in the 1970s and a reduced level of suspicion in the 1990s.

The other pairings conflict with how those decades are portrayed; for example, suggesting decreased public support in the 1970s contradicts the rising-support pattern, or labeling the 1980s as a steady-relations decade misses the noted shifts, and placing dramatic reform in the 1960s is outside the decade pair in question.