A majority of New York City's Democrat voters are worried about crime and safety and oppose last year's $1 billion budget cut for the NYPD, a New York Post poll found.
The survey found 62.2% of voters in the Bronx opposed Mayor Bill de Blasio's cut of $1 billion from the NYPD's $6 billion budget last year due to the murder of George Floyd by police in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
In the other boroughs, 51.5% in Staten Island, 50.5% in Queens, 49.1% in Manhattan, and 46% in Brooklyn also opposed defunding the police, according to the poll.
"It doesn't surprise me that the politicians don't know what the people of the city really want," a Brooklyn police officer told the Post. "If people aren't safe, nothing else matters. People want to make sure that they can safely go to work and go to sleep at night in their homes."
According to the Post, crime statistics show murders in the Bronx up by 46.2% this year, shootings are up by 117.5%, and the number of shooting victims is up 125% compared to the same period last year.
About a third of respondents in all five boroughs said crime was the most important issue facing the city.
Coming just ahead of the city's first ever ranked choice Democrat mayoral primary, the results seem to be at odds with the campaigns of the top candidates.
Challenger Maya Wiley, who is running second in the latest polling behind former NYPD police captain Eric Adams 21.3-16.5%, has pledged to take another $1 billion from the police and give it to the schools instead.
Wiley maintained her position Friday despite the poll results.
"New Yorkers are very clear: They understand that unjust, unfair policing has harmed Black and Latino communities wrongly, unconstitutionally," she said during a campaign rally. "I'd rather stop the gun from being fired than I would make sure we have police stopping people in the streets."
According to the Post's poll, lower income and minority residents felt the strongest about not defunding the police with 38.7% of those earning less than $20,000 per year, 36.4% earning $20,000-$40,000, and 36.8% of those earning $40,000-$60,000 saying crime and safety issues would decide who they would vote for.
Most African Americans also disagree with taking money away from the police 50.8-40.5%, according to the poll.
The poll of 1,000 likely Democrat voters by McLaughlin & Associates was conducted June 10-15. The margin of error was not available.
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