The general public placed great hope for the new police chief's ability to reduce crime in the downtown district.
The general public placed great hope in the new police chief's ability to reduce crime in the downtown district.
The general public placed great hope for the new police chief's ability to reduce crime in the downtown district.
The general public placed great hope in the new police chief's ability to reduce crime in the downtown district.
The structure "to place hope" idiomatically requires the preposition "in." The full idiom is "to place hope in."