By Suzie Ziegler
WASHINGTON — The number of Americans who want more money spent on their hometown police departments has grown to 47%, up from 31% in June 2020, according to new data from the Pew Research Center. Likewise, the number of Americans in support of reducing police spending has fallen to 15%, down from 25% in 2020.
According to researchers, the data reflects a change in public attitude amid growing concern about violent crime.
Here are some more notable takeaways from the study:
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21% of respondents said police funding should be increased a lot, up from 11% in 2020
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Only 6% want police spending decreased by a lot, down from 12% in 2020
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Age was a significant factor; 63% of those 65 and older favor increased police funding
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61% of adults said violent crime was a big problem in the U.S., up from 41% in 2020
For full survey results, see here.
This data was collected from two separate surveys, each of 10,000 adult Americans, in July and September this year. For more information about the study and its research methods, see here.