Most Reject Calls for Defunding Police

Despite the high-profile anti-police protests nationwide, few Americans believe there are too many cops in this country, and most reject the push by the political left to defund police departments.

The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone and online survey finds that 27% of American Adults favor reducing the police budget in the community where they live. Despite the growing political movement to defund police departments and channel that money into more social services, 59% are opposed to cutting their local police budget, while 14% are undecided. (To see survey question wording, click here.) 

Republicans (16%) are more reluctant than Democrats (29%) and those not affiliated with either major party (32%) to cut local police funding. Those under 40 like the idea a lot more than their elders do.

Just 17% of all Americans believe there are too many police officers in America, although that’s up from 11% six years ago. Thirty-eight percent (38%) say there are not enough cops, down from a high of 51% in 2014. Thirty-five percent (35%) rate the number of police officers as about right.

Even among blacks, only 27% think there are too many cops, although that compares to 15% of whites and 17% of other minority Americans. Blacks (36%) are more enthusiastic than whites (25%) and other minorities (24%) about defunding the police and channeling that money into more social services.

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The survey of 1,000 American Adults was conducted June 7-8, 2020 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.

Sixteen percent (16%) of Americans think most cops are racist in the wake of George Floyd’s death in Minneapolis, up from 10% a year ago. But 67% still rate the performance of their local police as good or excellent.

Seventy-seven percent (77%) of adults in this country say crime remains a serious problem in America today, with 38% who say it’s Very Serious. As recently as January 2018, 28% said crime had increased in their community, while 15% said it had decreased.

Interestingly, while blacks are more likely to say there are too many cops and to support defunding their local police, they are also the most likely to rate crime as a Very Serious problem. Forty-six percent (46%) of blacks share that view, compared to 34% of whites and 43% of other minorities.

The older the American, the more seriously they view the crime situation.

Twenty-two percent (22%) of Democrats and 20% of unaffiliated voters believe there are too many police officers in America. Only seven percent (7%) of Republicans agree. Most GOP voters (52%) say there aren’t enough cops, a view held by 30% of Democrats and 36% of unaffiliateds.

Belief that blacks are treated unfairly by police and that police discrimination is a bigger issue than inner city crime have jumped to record highs.

Voters are more critical of the police response to the latest outburst of black protests nationwide but also tend to agree with President Trump that the so-called “antifa” movement thought to be behind much of the violence should be labeled as terrorists.

Additional information from this survey and a full demographic breakdown are available to Platinum Members only.

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