To reduce violence in America, 53% of voters believe having the police crackdown on gang activity would be more effective than placing restrictions on gun ownership. A Scott Rasmussen national survey found that 35% take the opposite view and 12% are not sure.
Seventy-eight percent (78%) of Republicans believe cracking down on gang activity would be more effective. Fifty-seven percent (57%) of Democrats believe restricting gun ownership is the better approach. By a 50% to 24% margin, Independent voters see cracking down as gang activity would do more to reduce violence.
As on many issues, voters with a postgraduate degree have views that are significantly different than the rest of the population. By a 50% to 39% margin, those with an advanced degree believe restricting gun ownership is the best way to reduce violence. All other voters, by a 56% to 32% margin, take the opposite view.
Data released earlier found that 55% believe the “defund the police” movement led to increased crime in major U.S. cities.
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Note: Neither Scott Rasmussen, ScottRasmussen.com, nor RMG Research, Inc. have any affiliation with Rasmussen Reports. While Scott Rasmussen founded that firm, he left more than seven years ago and has had no involvement since that time.
Methodology
The survey of 1,200 Registered Voters was conducted by Scott Rasmussen using a mixed mode approach from July 8-10, 2021. Field work for the survey was conducted by RMG Research, Inc. Most respondents were contacted online or via text while 231 were contacted using automated phone polling techniques. Online respondents were selected from a list of Registered Voters and through a process of Random Digital Engagement. Certain quotas were applied, and the sample was lightly weighted by geography, gender, age, race, education, internet usage, and political party to reasonably reflect the nation’s population of Registered Voters. Other variables were reviewed to ensure that the final sample is representative of that population.
