Voters Want Cops to Focus on Murder, Leave Mental Health Calls to Others: Survey

Police departments should reallocate “significant” resources to solving serious crimes like murders and allow non-police professionals to deal with emergencies relating to mental health,  according to a new survey.

Some 78 percent of a national survey sample of 1,311 likely voters strongly agreed or agreed with the statement that “police departments should shift a significant portion of their internal resources to prioritize investigating and solving the most serious offenses like shootings and murders, ” reported Safer Cities, which conducted the survey.

Nearly as many (71 percent) agreed with the statement that “the best way to allow the police to focus on the most serious offenses is by drawing on the expertise of non-police professionals; for example, behavioral health experts should respond to most mental health and homelessness related calls.”

“Our results make clear that voters expect their city leaders to make solving more shootings and murders a top priority,” Safer Cities said in summing up the results. “Importantly, voters expect an internal recalibration of police resources.

“Indeed, voters want more resources, not fewer, for public safety programs and services that run on a parallel track to traditional law enforcement.”

The survey authors said their results should inform city and county policies on how to strengthen the “legitimacy” of police.

“The chasm that exists between how the police spend their time and how likely voters think the police should spend their time presents a looming crisis in legitimacy for law enforcement,” argued Matt Ferner of Safer Cities in his summation of the report.

Compared to the high percentage of respondents who want cops to focus on murders and major crime, just 18 percent thought responding to traffic violations was an important role for law enforcement, and only 27 percent felt homelessness and mental health issues should be a police priority.

Safer Cities is a research think tank which describes its aims as helping “journalists, public officials, and advocates cut through the noise of a national crime discourse that is often confusing and misleading.”

The sample was weighted to be representative of likely voters by age, gender, education, race, and voting history. The margin of error is ±3 percentage points.

To download the full survey and tables, please click here.