A recent poll found that a majority of voters believe there is a war on police and support laws that make attacks on police punishable as a hate crime.
A poll released Thursday by Rasmussen Reports found that 59% of likely voters think there is a war on police going on in America today. The results indicated that more voters think there is a war on police than previously recorded, with 43% of respondents agreeing in 2018 and a previous high of 58% in 2015.
80% of Republicans said they believed a war on police is going on compared to 39% of Democrats. A majority of independents agreed with the statement as well, with 60% of unaffiliated voters saying they thought there is a war on police.
NYPD police officers watch demonstrators in Times Square during a “Black Lives Matter” protest (Timothy A. Clary/AFP via Getty Images)
59% of respondents also supported the adoption of ‘Blue Lives Matter’ laws in their state that would make attacks on police and first respondents a hate crime with additional penalties for such acts. Louisiana was the first state to implement a ‘Blue Lives Matter’ law in May 2016 and more than a dozen states have enacted similar legislation, The Washington Post reported.
White voters were more likely to support ‘Blue Lives Matter’ laws, with 63% saying they supported implementing such legislation in their state according to the poll. But 52% of black voters also said they supported the idea along with a sizable 49% of other minority voters.
68% of respondents expressed concern that deadly attacks on police would lead to a shortage of police officers and a decline in public safety. Respondents across all racial groups shared this concern — 84% of black voters and 70% of other minority voters expressed concern and 66% of white voters said the same.
Data from the FBI concluded that 37 police officers were feloniously killed in 2020, a 28% increase compared to last year according to ABC News. Violent crime has also spiked across the country amid ongoing nationwide protests and riots following the death of George Floyd earlier this year.
Police officers across the country have expressed concerns about their safety amid civil unrest and growing hostility towards law enforcement, The New York Times reported. (RELATED: The Myth Of Systemic Police Racism Is Leading To Targeted Attacks Against Cops)
The poll surveyed 1,000 likely voters via national telephone and online survey between Sept. 15-16. The poll had a margin of error of +/- three percentage points.
