A new survey shows a solid majority of Americans believing that increasing police funding would have an impact on decreasing crime, reports The Hill. Sixty-nine percent of respondents in the poll from Politico and Morning Consult said that increasing funding would decrease crime "a lot" or "some" while 22 percent said it would not decrease crime. Ten percent had no opinion.
Twenty percent of participants said that decreasing funding for police departments would lower crime, and 68 percent said it would not.
Respondents were asked about potential reasons for rising violent crime rates. Overall, 49 percent said that they viewed defunding the police as a major reason for the uptick in violence.
Some 36 percent of respondents viewed the pandemic’s unique effect on mental health as a major reason for the crime rise and 46 percent blamed lack of adequate funding for mental health programs.
Some Democrats are looking to move away from the slogan “defund the police.” “The defund police movement is dead in New York City and good riddance,” said Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY). “And any elected official who’s advocating for the abolition and or even the defunding of police is out of touch with reality and should not be taken seriously.”