红杏视频

President Donald Trump has been pushing mass deportations, aggressive law enforcement measures, and a sweeping expansion of the death penalty as the path to public safety鈥� all while cutting the very programs that actually make communities safer.

Voters aren鈥檛 buying it.

New research from the 红杏视频, conducted in February 2025 in partnership with YouGov, shows voters want leaders to invest in crime prevention by improving access to mental-health care, addiction treatment, economic opportunities, and alternative crisis response models in lieu of punitive policies that harm and criminalize communities.

The Trump administration, however, has cut the very programs that voters want and that actually make communities safer.. The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) have slashed millions, and terminated funding entirely, for grant programs that make crime prevention possible. These cuts are sowing fear, chaos, and confusion鈥攏one of which foster community safety.

This week, 红杏视频 leaders from our national office and 10 state affiliates will convene in Washington, D.C. for our second annual Community Safety Week where they will stand up to dangerous agenda and to demand that Congress safeguard proven solutions. Alongside grassroots advocates, public-health experts, violence intervention specialists, and alternative crisis response experts, we鈥檒l be calling on Congress to reject harmful cuts and instead invest in community-based strategies that prevent violence, promote justice, and ensure long-term safety.

The 红杏视频 national survey of registered voters shows that economic issues are top of mind for most Americans. Thirty percent of voters say inflation and cost of living are their top concern, followed by 21 percent who say they are concerned about presidential abuse of power. Only five percent list crime and public safety as their most pressing issue. This doesn鈥檛 mean people don鈥檛 care about crime and public safety鈥攊t means they see it as connected to broader systemic failures. They recognize that crime is often a symptom of chronic underinvestment in healthcare, housing, and economic opportunity.

When it comes to public safety, Americans want solutions that economically uplift their communities. Seventy-nine percent of voters across the political spectrum say that addressing poverty, economic despair, and lack of opportunities would help improve safety in communities a lot or some.

A supermajority of voters鈥�85 percent鈥攂elieve expanding mental healthcare and addiction treatment would improve safety in communities, with 68 percent of voters supporting sending mental-health specialists to appropriate crisis calls instead of police.

Most voters also believe that homelessness is a housing issue, not a crime issue. A majority of voters 鈥�75 percent鈥攕ay that lack of affordable housing is the primary cause of homelessness, compared to 25 percent of voters who say that homelessness is caused by people being allowed to live on the street without facing criminal consequences. Seventy-seven percent say that we need to address homelessness through housing and services rather than arrests.

Cuts to essential services that help people out of homelessness, substance use disorders, and other mental health crises don鈥檛 just defy common sense, they run counter to what most Americans know is effective.

Voters don鈥檛 just prefer preventative policies鈥� they also reject the notion that punitive measures make communities safe. In fact, 64 percent believe over-reliance on prisons causes many of the problems that lead to unsafe communities, such as homelessness, poverty, and drug or mental health challenges.

While elected leaders in both parties have relied on fear-based messaging, pushing ideas like enhanced criminal penalties and increased police power as the way to keep communities safe, voters no longer buy it. Sixty-six percent of voters say that we should prioritize rehabilitation over incarceration to safely reduce the prison population, demonstrating their belief that extreme sentencing is ineffective.

Given voters鈥檚 clear support for investments that uplift communities, it鈥檚 not surprising that 60 percent are concerned that President Trump is going too far in slashing the federal government, eliminating important programs and critical services that many Americans rely on. Programs that have lost funding include those that provide mentorship to children, reduce violence, help people find housing, and provide addiction treatment and mental healthcare.

While cutting money for critical services Americans support, President Trump is simultaneously asking Congress for hundreds of millions of dollars to carry out deportation plans that most Americans don鈥檛 want and don鈥檛 believe contribute to safety. Sixty-three percent of voters are convinced that 鈥渄eporting our neighbors and tearing apart families only makes private prison corporations and their CEOs richer鈥� and that 鈥減oliticians should prioritize real solutions to prevent crime and reduce violence, like investments in quality schools, living wages, affordable housing, and increased access to mental health and addiction treatment.鈥�

Americans across the political divide want lawmakers to lead with solutions that prevent crime, rather than focusing on punishment in the aftermath. When elected officials 鈥攔egardless of party affiliation鈥� focus on the need to ensure access to healthcare, jobs, and housing in their public messaging, they win support by at least eight points, compared to someone focusing on putting more people behind bars.

Even in states that President Trump won, sometimes quite handily, voters prefer solutions over punishment. Voters in Tennessee (84%) and North Carolina (87%), for instance, agree that increasing access to mental healthcare and treatment for drug addiction would help improve safety in communities a lot or some. At the same time, 59 percent of North Carolina voters and 63 percent of Tennessee voters believe that an over-reliance on prisons causes unsafe communities.

Seizing funds proven to contribute to making our communities safer is reckless, cruel, and will lead to untold suffering and harm. When mental health clinics close, when homeless shelters lose funding, and when job training programs disappear, the social challenges don鈥檛 just vanish. They show up in emergency rooms, in overcrowded jails, and in rising desperation.

The American public agrees on a way forward in addressing the root causes of crime, and the roadmap is clear: invest in programs that help communities thrive, like affordable housing, healthcare, and harm reduction.

We鈥檙e on the Hill urging lawmakers to say no to President Trump鈥檚 cruel agenda and allocate money in ways that reflect the will of the American people. Take action and tell Congress to fund the essential services our communities urgently need.