Do Americans Support Changes in Police Spending?

The "Defund the Police" movement has quickly gained traction across the country as part of the broader Black Lives Matter movement, where those seeking justice for the killings of innocent Black Americans believe too much of the country’s budget goes toward policing. New data shows that a majority of Americans are against defunding the police, preferring to keep spending levels the same or even to increase them.

A new survey from Pew Research Center shows that 42 percent of U.S. adults believe local police spending across the country should stay the same. Of those who believe it should increase, 20 percent are in favor of increasing police spending by a little and 11 percent would increase spending by a lot. Just 14 percent and 12 percent of U.S. respondents said they would decrease spending by a little and by a lot, respectively.

Still, other results from the survey show a majority of U.S. adults prefer additional policies and measures to keep police officers from elevating themselves above the law. Two-thirds of Americans said they favor the ability for civilians to sue police officers in situations of misconduct and excessive use of force – a practice that is nearly impossible in many parts of the country due to qualified immunity. 92 percent of Americans were in agreement on police being required to be trained in nonviolent alternatives to deadly force, and 90 percent were also in favor of creating a federal government database to track officers accused of misconduct.