Republicans effectively labeled some Democrats as police “defunders” during the 2020 elections, even though most mainstream candidates — including President Joe Biden — never embraced the movement pushed by party progressives.
Democrats want to avoid similar pitfalls in 2021 as crime continues to surge. Last month, the FBI reported murders rose nearly 30% in 2020, while violent crime overall went up for the first time in four years.
That trend has not abated in cities like Atlanta, where homicides have risen more than 60% since 2019.
A Pew Research Center poll released this week found 47% of Americans want to see police spending increase, up from 31% in June 2020. Only 15% said funding should be reduced, down from 25% last year.
Polls show Black voters — who are more likely to be victims of crime and live in neighborhoods with high crime rates — are particularly opposed to cutting funding.
“Communities that tend to be Black and brown, that tend to be less affluent, actually want police,” said Tammy Greer, a political science professor at Clark Atlanta University. “The pendulum was always going to shift back.”
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{Matzav.com}