  In this work we consider superconductor-semiconductor hybrids containing both
trivial and Majorana zero modes and explore their signatures in the Majorana
polarization. In particular, we consider trivial zero energy states due to
confinement and disorder, which seem to be very likely experimental scenarios.
We show that the Majorana polarization is able to characterize the topological
phase transition as well as the emergence of Majorana zero modes even when
trivial zero-energy states proliferate. Notably, the Majorana polarization
inherits direct information about spatial correlations which are then the key
for distinguishing Majorana and trivial zero-modes. We demonstrate the utility
of the Majorana polarization in normal-superconductor junctions and
superconductor-normal-superconductor Josephson junctions. Our results support
the interpretation of the Majorana polarization as a real space topological
indicator.
