Poll: Overwhelming Majority of Americans Oppose ‘Abolishing’ the Police

A majority of Americans oppose defunding the police, and an even greater majority oppose “abolishing” the police, a recently released YouGov poll revealed.

The survey, taken June 14-16 among 1,500 U.S. adults (1,160 of whom are registered voters), found that the majority of Americans disagree with the “defund the police” movement popularized by the Black Lives Matter movement.

The majority, 53 percent, indicated that they oppose defunding police, while 24 percent said they support the proposal. What is more, nearly three-quarters of Americans, 73 percent, said they oppose “abolishing” the police altogether, with just 11 percent supporting the call. Even a majority of Democrats oppose abolishing the police, with 63 percent opposing and 19 percent favoring. Sixty-nine percent of independents oppose abolishing the police, and 90 percent of Republicans fall say the same:

Do you favor or oppose defunding police departments?
Favor 24%
Oppose 53%
.
Do you favor or oppose abolishing the police?
Favor 11%
Oppose 73%@YouGovAmerica/@TheEconomist 6/14-16https://t.co/puaBQRFMjf

— Political Polls (@Politics_Polls) June 22, 2020

The margin of error is +/- 3.2 percent.

The survey coincides with other national polls, showing a majority of Americans opposing the sweeping proposal of “defunding the police.”

The national sentiment comes as progressive politicians push for police reform, which includes the slashing of department funding. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) has championed this call, contending that an America with defunded police would “look like a suburb.”

“Affluent white communities already live in a world where they choose to fund youth, health, housing, etc more than they fund police,” she wrote in an Instagram story this month.

“These communities have lower crime rates not because they have more police, but bc they have more resources to support healthy society in a way that reduces crime,” the lawmaker continued, adding that “affluent white suburbs” also “design their own lives so that they walk through the world without having much interruption or interaction with police at all aside from community events and speeding tickets.”

Former police officer Tom Homan, speaking at a pro-cop “We Back Blue” event in D.C. this month, challenged progressive politicians — like Ocasio-Cortez, Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY)  — to “lead by example” and defund their security detail first.

“She says we should defund the police, and we should all make sacrifices. Okay. So lead by example,” he suggested:

Matt Perdie / Breitbart News

“Let’s take the law enforcement officers that provide them 24/7 law enforcement security. If they want to take protection away from the American people in their communities, lead by example,” Homan said.

“Defund your protection first,” he added. “You think they’re going to do it? They’re never going to do it.”