A new AP-NORC poll released Wednesday finds that most Americans view crime as a significant issue in the United States and broadly support President Donald Trump’s approach to addressing it.
The survey showed that 81% of Americans consider crime a “major issue,” including 96% of Republicans, 68% of Democrats, and 72% of Independents. Additionally, 53% approve of the measures Trump is taking to combat crime.
About half of White and Hispanic Americans approve of Trump’s handling of crime, while only 27% of Black Americans share that view, according to the poll of 1,182 American adults conducted between Aug. 21-25. This followed Trump’s federalization of the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department earlier this month.
Trump deployed the National Guard and federal law enforcement agencies, including the FBI, ATF, and Homeland Security Investigations, to Washington, D.C. The city went 12 days without a homicide, and as of Wednesday, Attorney General Pam Bondi reported 1,173 arrests under the new policing strategy.
Upon announcing the plan on Aug. 11, Trump said criminals in the city were undeterred by law enforcement because “nothing ever happens to them.”
Since the mandate, residents have shared their experiences as crime victims in the capital. During a cabinet meeting on Tuesday, reporter Iris Tao of New Tang Dynasty Television described being pistol-whipped in 2023 during a robbery that left her traumatized. NBC News reported Tao saying, “I’ve never dared to walk in the street of D.C. at night, ever, and my family was extremely worried. So, Mr. President, thank you so much for what you’re doing right now.”
Trump responded, according to the Associated Press, “I bet you see a big difference in the streets right now.”
Former Washington Examiner reporter Anna Giaritelli recounted being attacked near Union Station in 2022 by a repeat offender released multiple times despite committing new crimes, including wielding a machete on Capitol Hill. She told Fox News Digital, “I was randomly attacked by a homeless man and fought for my life. That event has had a significant impact on my life and changed its course.”
Gregg Pemberton, chairman of the D.C. Police Union, expressed support for Trump’s federal intervention. In an op-ed for The Washington Post, he wrote that the president’s takeover of the D.C. police was “a drastic but necessary step,” though additional reforms are needed to stabilize the department. Pemberton criticized the D.C. Council for prioritizing ideology over public safety, highlighting the Comprehensive Policing and Justice Reform Act, which Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) vetoed and Congress, including a Senate controlled by Democrats, attempted to repeal.
