Voters know the best way to pursue safety is by investing in communities
For more than a decade, the Alliance for Safety and Justice has polled crime survivors and voters about their views on safety and justice. In the runup to the 2024 election, we conducted nationally representative polls to learn more about where voters and victims stand on issues of public safety.
In April 2025, the U.S. Department of Justice abruptly terminated 365 grants worth more than $800 million. The cancellation of these grants has caused hundreds of nonprofit organizations to pause or modify their work advancing victim services, community violence intervention programs, reentry, mental health and substance abuse treatment, and youth prevention programs. In the context of these cuts, three findings from our November 2024 survey stand out.
Voters want prevention programs protected from budget cuts
When we asked voters which public safety functions should be protected from budget cuts, 57% identified prevention programs as the most important to protect versus 37% who identified police functions.
Voters overwhelmingly support public safety programs impacted by budget cuts
– 91% believe victims of crime should be able to access trauma recovery centers
– 93% believe victims of crime should be able to access mental health counseling services
– 82% believe victims of crime should be able to access addiction treatment
Voters know investing in communities is the best way to promote public safety
– More than 3 out of 5 voters prefer policies that prevent crime by strengthening communities over policies that respond to crime by punishing people who commit crime.
– Two out of three voters think that job training and treatment are the best ways to stop people from committing repeat crimes.
– Three out of five voters prefer investing in prevention and crisis assistance over spending on increased arrests, strict punishments, and incarceration.