Americans are more concerned about increasing levels of crime across the entire U.S. than in their hometowns and cities, a new poll has found.
Compared to last year, almost half (48 percent) said that crime, which was the third biggest concern behind inflation and political polarization, had increased nationwide, according to a survey by NPR and Ipsos.
However, scaling down to major cities in their state, 37 percent were concerned about a crime increase and 34 percent believed it was increasing in the state as a whole.
Just 23 percent said increasing crime levels were affecting their city or community.
It comes after continuing pushes by Donald Trump to federalize state and city law enforcement, having deployed the National Guard in cities including Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., and he now has his sights set on Memphis, Tennessee.
“It’s very important because of the crime that’s going on not only in Memphis, in many cities, and we’re going to take care of all of them, step by step, just like we did in D.C.,” he told reporters previously.
The president has vowed to “clean up our cities” and suggested that others, including New Orleans and Baltimore, could be next. The action has sparked outrage from residents and local leaders and prompted major protests.
Such a reaction was reflected in the NPR-Ipsos poll, which found that despite the concern about crime, most Americans did not agree with Trump’s deployment of National Guard troops.
When asked if they agreed with the deployment of troops to “a major city in your state for law enforcement efforts,” only 38 percent said yes, and 34 percent said they agreed with deployment to their local area.
On the continued presence of National Guard troops in Washington, D.C., for law enforcement efforts, 37 percent said yes, and only 35 percent overall said they agreed with the president’s plan to send soldiers to Tennessee.
Trump also announced Saturday that he had directed “Secretary of War” Pete Hegseth to send troops to Portland, Oregon, which he claimed was “War ravaged.”
“I am also authorizing Full Force, if necessary. Thank you for your attention to this matter!” he wrote on Truth Social.
Portland Mayor Keith Wilson responded to Trump’s demand in a statement, writing, “President Trump has directed ‘all necessary Troops’ to Portland, Oregon. The number of necessary troops is zero, in Portland and any other American city.”
Wilson also voiced concerns Friday night about an increased federal presence at the ICE facility, suggesting Trump may be acting on his earlier threats to use federal force against protests in the city.
His concern also aligned with those of respondents to the NPR-Ipsos poll, which found that only 35 percent overall agreed with allowing federal officers to make immigration-related stops “with fewer restrictions.”
The survey consisted of interviews with 1,020 American adults from across the U.S. and was conducted from September 19 to 21. There was a 3.2 percent margin for error.
