Republicans maintain a strong edge with voters on the issue of violent crime. According to recent polling, a strong majority remains concerned about violent crime and trusts the GOP to handle the issue over the Democratic Party.
A recent Rasmussen survey of likely voters found 80 percent of respondents viewed violent crime as an area of concern in America. The number reflected a slight increase from October of last year, when 77 percent responded with concern over the issue. Forty-seven percent of respondents said they were “very concerned” about violent crime.
Republicans held the advantage on the issue, with 45 percent of respondents saying they trusted Republicans more when it came to the handling of crime and law enforcement, compared to 40 percent who trusted Democrats more.
Responses reflected a partisan divide and aligned strongly with party affiliation. Among Republican voters, 85 percent trusted their own party more on the topic, while Democrats trusted their party by 78 percent. Republicans maintained a strong edge among unaffiliated voters, with 40 percent of Independents saying they trusted Republicans more on crime, and 32 percent saying they trusted Democrats more to handle the issue.
The U.S. has witnessed a demonstrable drop in violent crime during the past year under the Trump administration. President Trump has pointed to a comprehensive approach, including his signature issue of immigration enforcement, as the reason for the decrease.
However, voter perception was more closely divided on the issue of whether immigration enforcement impacted crime. Forty-six percent of respondents did not agree that immigration enforcement helps to reduce violent crime, while 42 percent believed immigration policy played a role. This issue also reflected a partisan divide, with 72 percent of Republicans believing stricter immigration policies reduced crime and only 20 percent of Democrats viewing a link between the two issues.
President Trump held an overwhelming advantage with his base on the issue. Among voters in the 2024 presidential election, 77 percent of those who voted for Trump agreed that immigration enforcement helped reduce crime, compared with only 10 percent of those who voted for Kamala Harris.