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Perceptive public perceptions and political opportunities

By Douglas Berman

A helpful reader pointed me to some recent Gallup poll results concerning public perception of crime rates and drug problems.  Here are links and highlights from these recent polls:

On crime, this Gallup poll report is headlined “Perceptions of Crime Problem Remain Curiously Negative: More see crime worsening rather than improving.”  This Gallup report makes much of the fact that “Americans have a decidedly negative outlook about crime” even though overall crime rates “have generally leveled off at extremely low numbers.”  But, Gallup’s poll question asked about perceptions of crime in the last year, and the latest FBI yearly report shows a roughly 2% increase in violent crime.

On drugs, this Gallup poll report is headlined “Little Change in Public’s View of the U.S. Drug Problem: More than 7 in 10 Americans say nation’s drug problem is very serious.”   This Gallup report details that “the vast majority of Americans [are] saying the problem of illegal drugs in the United States is very serious,” but “only about one in three Americans [believe that government efforts have] made progress in this area.”

Beyond being impressed with the public’s perceptiveness, these result would appear to present real political opportunities for those interested in sounder crime and sentencing policies.  Read together, these polls suggest that the public is primarily concerned with violent crimes and that most Americans view the government’s use of harsh sentences in the “war on drugs” to be a failure.  In turn, the public ought to be very receptive to campaigns that promise dramatic reductions in sentences for non-violent drug offenders so that resources could be more effectively concentrated on (a) drug treatment programs, and (b) police and correctional resources devoted to preventing and responding to violent crimes and offenders.

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