The two-decade-high level of homicides in the nation since President Joe Biden took charge of the White House has apparently helped to boost those who believe that the criminal justice system is not tough enough on criminals.
This month, Gallup showed a spike in Americans who want prosecutors to crack down on violent crime. The 58% who feel that way is similar to the attitudes of the nation before Washington decided to approve criminal justice reform and the defund police movements.
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It also parallels the surge in violent crime. Homicides have grown to 24,448, the highest since 2000.
Crime researcher Sean Kennedy, president of Virginians for Safe Communities, combined for Secrets the results of last week’s Gallup survey and the surge in killings. He told us, “Americans know that crime — especially violent crime — is out of control. The great ‘criminal justice reform’ experiment has failed and the public wants consequences for offenders. Amid rising crime, we can no longer afford the luxury of leniency.”
NEW GALLUP POLL: Public Safety IS a Priority => Americans want “tough-on-crime” policies after homicides rise. The criminal justice “reform” experiment has failed. Soft-on-crime is a luxury we cannot afford. #crime #Safety #CJReform #Police pic.twitter.com/0yISI0WO5j
— Virginians 4 Safe Communities (@VA4SafeComm) November 20, 2023
During the Obama and Trump administrations, efforts swept Washington to reform the criminal justice system. The message to prosecutors and courts was to lighten up on hard-line sentencing and crack down on police.
The movement hit a peak after George Floyd died in police custody in Minneapolis in 2020.
Pluralities of EVERY demographic group — age, party, race & income support TOUGHER policies vs leniency by 2-1 margins, with non-whites 49%-20% for tougher policies and Democrats opposing leniency 40-24%https://t.co/e31XiH4eYG pic.twitter.com/wm2I4DRoLD
— Virginians 4 Safe Communities (@VA4SafeComm) November 20, 2023
For his part, Kennedy put on Gallup’s chart the homicide numbers of the last 20 years to show how they have both surged in the past year.
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He wrote in an X thread, “Public Safety IS a Priority => Americans want ‘tough-on-crime’ policies after homicides rise. The criminal justice ‘reform’ experiment has failed. Soft-on-crime is a luxury we cannot afford.”
He added, “Pluralities of EVERY demographic group — age, party, race & income support TOUGHER policies vs leniency by 2-1 margins, with non-whites 49%-20% for tougher policies and Democrats opposing leniency 40-24%.”
In its poll “bottom line,” Gallup explained, “Most U.S. adults think the criminal justice system should focus on strengthening law enforcement rather than reducing bias against minorities, but they believe targeting social and economic problems is key to lowering the crime rate.”
