Last week, the online data research group YouGov released the results of a series of polls that asked registered voters opinions on a wide-range of crime-related issues ahead of the 2024 election, including the issues that matter to them most, policies they support, and candidates they trust.
The poll found that among supporters of Donald Trump crime is a major issue, with 45% saying it is one of their top three biggest issues. For supporters of Kamala Harris, only 19% ranked it in the top three. (For Harris supporters, the top three issues were health care, the economy, and the environment. Trump supporters were most concerned with the economy, immigration, then crime.)
The crime-related issue that voters are most likely to be concerned with is gun policy. Gun policy is by far the top issue for supporters of Harris, followed by racial disparities in criminal justice. Trump's voters place the most priority on police funding and criminal sentencing, though a large share also cares about guns.
Harris' crime policies are, on average, more popular than Trump's. Majorities of voters favor Harris-backed proposals for universal background checks for gun purchases and reentry programs for former prisoners. Trump's proposal to impose mandatory minimum sentences for violent crimes also is supported by a large majority of voters — including by most of his supporters and Harris'.
But two of his plans each get far less support, including from less than half of his own supporters: giving qualified immunity to police officers and allowing the death penalty for drug dealers.
The widest discrepancy of opinion between Harris and Trump supporters on a specific crime policy is Trump’s suggestion that he would pardon those involved in the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. 70% of Trump supporters support that policy. Just 7% of Harris supporters do.
Trump is somewhat preferred to Harris on the handling of crime overall, but trust on specific crime-related issues varies. Harris is more trusted than Trump for handling racial disparities in criminal justice, white collar crime, and marijuana laws. Trump leads Harris in trust on handling police funding and criminal sentencing. Voters are closely divided on who they trust more to handle gun policy, policing practices, and privacy rights.
Voters are largely able to correctly identify Harris' policies regarding guns. Most voters also know that Trump wants to pardon participants in the January 6th attack and to send troops into cities to enforce order. Fewer than half of voters — including just 37% of his own supporters — know about Trump's support for allowing the death penalty to be imposed on drug dealers.
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