Two independent surveys released Tuesday show a majority of Americans think efforts to reduce police funding will result in a disaster producing more violent crime.
A new Rasmussen survey shows 66 percent of American adults “now oppose reducing the police budget in the community where they live to channel that money into more social services.” That percentage was up from the 59 percent revealed in early June polling, so it shows even more people have concluded that defunding police departments is a bad idea.
Fox News is also reporting that an ABC/Washington Post poll shows only 40 percent of Americans support defunding police, while 55 percent oppose the idea.
In recent weeks, a national gun rights organization—the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms—has twice advised residents in two different communities—Minneapolis and Seattle—that with proposals on the table to cut police, private citizens should arm themselves.
Rasmussen said only 23 percent of its survey respondents favor defunding police where they live, while 11 percent are undecided. Support for police came from 69 percent of whites and 62 percent of minorities, the polling company said.
The Rasmussen survey also revealed that 61 percent of Americans believe violent crime is likely to climb in communities that defund police agencies.
There is a revealing divide along party lines. According to Rasmussen, “Democrats (37%) are much more supportive of defunding the police in their community than Republicans (17%) and those not affiliated with either major political party (15%) are.
“While 78% of Republicans and 62% of unaffiliateds believe that defunding the cops is likely to lead to more criminal violence, just 45% of Democrats agree,” Rasmussen added.
The ABC/Washington Post survey seemed to concur, reporting “Among Democrats, 59 support cutting funding, but only 14 percent of Republicans and 42 percent of independents.”
Translation: Democrats are more in favor of cutting police funding than Republicans or Independents.
Recently, when the far left Seattle City Council started moving toward cutting funds for the city’s police force, CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb declared, “While the city council may believe crippling its police department is a politically smart move, it’s going to directly impact public safety. Nobody should be surprised when more people buy guns and apply for carry licenses, only in Seattle and King County, applying for a CPL hasn’t been possible since March.
“Seattleites saw what happens when there is limited police response by watching what occurred in the so-called ‘CHOP’ zone in the city’s Capitol Hill neighborhood,” he noted. “Two teens were murdered, four other people were injured in shootings, and no amount of fluff reporting and official denial could conceal the anarchy.
“This effort to defund the police creates legitimate concerns among Seattle residents and people who work in the city about their safety,” Gottlieb said. “Preventing people from applying for a concealed pistol license is tantamount to denying them their right to bear arms under the state and federal constitutions.”
