3 in 4 Phoenix District 8 Likely Voters Prefer a Candidate who Supports funding the Police
PHOENIX (July 7th, 2022)- With election season quickly approaching, candidates' stances on defunding the police and the importance of public safety are becoming key factors as voters decide how they will vote at the ballot box. Looking for a deeper understanding of public opinion on police officers and law enforcement in the City of Phoenix, Phoenix Law Enforcement Association (PLEA) commissioned a survey from OH Predictive Insights(OHPI) of likely voters in Phoenix City Council District 8 (PCCD-8) asking an array of questions about Phoenix police and public safety concerns.
This poll was conducted May 28th - June 8th, 2022, among 165 Phoenix City Council District 8 Likely Voters, yielding a Margin of Error of +/-7.63%.
The survey found that PCCD-8 likely voters are much less likely to support a candidate who supports defunding the police. According to the poll, a candidate who has voted at least four times to eliminate police officer positions or programs and is supported by groups that want to defund the police department received 20% support. In contrast, 73% of respondents would rather vote for a candidate who oversees the police department and provides accountability to residents to ensure that bad cops are off the street.
The survey also gauged overall sentiment regarding defunding the police by asking respondents how favorable or unfavorable their impression of “Defund the Police” is. A majority of respondents expressed disagreement with defunding the police with 51% reporting an unfavorable opinion – 41% of which were very unfavorable. Among this 51% includes two-thirds of respondents aged 55+ (50% of whom had a very unfavorable view), 62% of Republicans (60% of whom had a very unfavorable view), and 40% of Democrats who were also very unfavorable.
One-third (34%) view defunding the police as very/somewhat favorable, including 40% of Independents and 40% of 18-54-year-olds.
With a high homeless population in Phoenix, respondents were asked their opinion on affordable housing and reducing homelessness. The survey found that 4 in 5 PCCD-8 likely voters said it is extremely/very important to invest in more affordable housing and reduce homelessness. Twelve percent of participants said it is somewhat important, while only 7% said it is not important at all. Similarly, 73% of respondents said it is extremely/very important that police are fighting crime and making Phoenix a safe place to raise a family. Only 27% said it is somewhat important/not at all.
“Recently, the Phoenix City Council voted to give Phoenix police officers a pay raise, but the vote was not unanimous; 8 of 9 members voted in support of law enforcement. The only member to oppose, Carlos Garcia, is clearly out of step with the priorities of his district,” said Darrell Kriplean, President of PLEA. “Voters are speaking loud and clear in this poll: they want safety, equity, and overwhelmingly they want leadership who supports the police and provides resources to reduce crime.” “Pro-Police sentiment has not wavered for Phoenix residents since the last survey in January,” said Mike Noble, OHPI Chief of Research. “When we look closer at specifically district 8, the research seems pretty clear that they are not in favor of defunding the police and want their elected representative to be more supportive of police.”
According to the poll, half of the PCCD-8 likely voters (50%) believe Phoenix is on the right track, while 29% said they believe it to be heading in the wrong direction. The remaining 21% were unsure. To break it down by party, 59% of Republicans, 46% of Democrats, and 52% of Independents believe Phoenix is headed in the right direction.
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Methodology: This poll was conducted as a blended phone survey. The survey was commissioned by Phoenix Law Enforcement Association (PLEA) and completed by OH Predictive Insights from May 28th – June 8th, 2022, from a Phoenix City Council District 8 sample. The sample size of this survey was 165 Phoenix City Council District 8 Likely Voters, whose demographics were weighted to accurately reflect gender, region, age, ethnicity, and party affiliation based on the most current Arizona Secretary of State voter file – the exact percentages can be found in the table below. The sample of 165 Phoenix City Council District 8 likely voters yielded a MoE of ± 7.63%. All non-released questions would not reasonably be expected to influence responses to all released questions. The questions released are verbatim from the survey provided to respondents.Numbers may not equal 100% due to rounding.
Media Contacts:
Megan Newsham, OH Predictive Insights, m.newsham@ohpredictive.com, (314) 287-1985
Veronica Sutliff, OH Predictive Insights, v.sutliff@ohpredictive.com, (602) 390-5248
Lorna Romero, Elevate Strategies, Lorna@elevatestrategiesaz.com, (480) 231-8930
About PLEA: The Mission of PLEA is to promote the positive role of the police profession. To protect and secure members’ rights and benefits through effective representation and professional relationships with the community and local, state, and national governments. To learn more, visit www.azplea.com.
About OH Predictive Insights: As a non-partisan market research, predictive analytics, and public opinion polling firm, Arizona-based OH Predictive Insights provides accurate polling, focus groups, data analytics, and advanced targeted marketing to political and non-political clients alike. With leading professionals in the advertising, communication, polling, and political arenas, OH Predictive Insights serves political and non-political clients looking to improve their footing with key stakeholders and consumers. For more information, please call 480-313-1837 or submit a request online at OHPredictive.com.