Most voters “support removing soft-on-crime prosecutors” and oppose specific policies of big-city district attorneys like Alvin Bragg in New York, Chesa Boudin in San Francisco, Kim Foxx in Chicago, George Gascon in Los Angeles, and Kim Gardner in St. Louis.
Rasmussen Reports, in partnership with the National Police Association (NPA), found that 58 percent believe a law permitting an appointed state oversight committee with the ability to remove state attorneys from office if they refuse to prosecute violent crimes would improve safety. Only 21 percent disagree and 20 percent are unsure. The Feb. 7 survey polled 982 likely U.S. voters with a margin of error is ±3 percentage points at the 95 percent confidence level.
More than half — 54 percent — believe safety would improve if there was a law allowing state attorneys general to appoint a special prosecutor if the local district attorney “refuses to carry out their responsibilities.” Twenty-four percent oppose the idea and 22 percent are unsure.
NPA spokesperson, retired Sgt. Betsy Brantner Smith:
We have to fight this anti-law-enforcement narrative pushed by these woke progressive prosecutors who have gained a foothold in this country. It has become obvious these progressive prosecutors, many supported by money from outside their jurisdictions, have obtained office not to protect the public, but to protect criminals.
The survey also asked respondents about specific policies from big-city district attorneys and “found widespread opposition.” According to the poll report:
For example, Foxx’s office refused to prosecute five suspects arrested by Chicago police in a gang-related shootout that left one person dead, saying it was “mutual combat.” Sixty-nine percent (69 percent) of voters believe Foxx bears responsibility if the gang members commit more crime, and 72 percent say refusing to prosecute gang members for gunfights will make Chicago’s neighborhoods less safe.
Fifty-eight percent of voters think Bragg’s instruction to Manhattan staff to stop prosecution for resisting arrest and other crimes “makes it more likely people will resist arrest.” Sixty-seven percent think the policy “will make arrests more dangerous for arresting officers.”
The poll continues:
Seventy-two percent (72 percent) think Boudin’s policy in San Francisco of refusing to prosecute felons under California’s Three Strikes law, makes it more likely felons will continue committing crimes in the city.
Sixty-nine percent (69 percent) believe Los Angeles will be less safe because Gascon refuses to prosecute minors in adult court no matter the crime, including murder. Gascon’s policy resulted in a gang member who committed a murder at 17 serving only six years of incarceration instead of a life sentence. Sixty-one percent (61%) of voters think Gascon bears responsibility if the killer commits additional crimes.
Sixty-nine percent (69 percent) believe Gardner’s policy in St. Louis, which reduced prosecutions by more than 30 percent even as crime in the city was increasing, will make the city less safe. In one case, a judge released a first-degree murder suspect after prosecutors from Gardner’s office failed to show up for court hearings. Sixty-seven percent (67 percent) of voters believe Gardner bears responsibility for crimes committed by those released due to her non-prosecution program.
The survey additionally found widespread opposition to soft-on-crime policies across different racial demographics. Sixty-eight percent of whites, 62 percent of black voters, 65 percent of Hispanics, and 72 percent of other minorities think “Bragg’s policy in Manhattan of refusing to prosecute resisting arrest will make arrest more dangerous for arresting officers.”
A solid majority of each category also believe safety would be improved by a law permitting an appointed state oversight committee with the ability to remove state attorneys who refuse to prosecute violent crime.
“Such a law is supported by 72 percent of Republicans, 48 percent of Democrats and 55 percent of independent voters,” the survey found.