81% of Americans see crime as a ‘major problem’ in big cities, new poll shows

A new AP-NORC poll released Wednesday shows that the vast majority of Americans see crime as a huge issue in the United States and approve of President Donald Trump’s handling of it. 

The poll showed that 81% of Americans agree that crime is a “major issue,” including 96% of Republicans and 68% of Democrats, and 72% of Independents say the same. 

Further, 53% of Americans approve of the methods by which Trump is combating crime. 

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About half of White and Hispanic Americans approve of the way Trump is handling crime, while only 27% of Black Americans approve, according to the poll. 

The poll interviewed 1,182 American adults and was conducted between Aug. 21-25, about two weeks after Trump’s federalization of the Metro Police Department in Washington, D.C.

Trump called in the National Guard, and federal law enforcement entities, including the FBI, ATF and Homeland Security Investigations, swarmed the capital. The city went 12 days without a homicide, and as of Wednesday, 1,173 arrests have been made as part of the new policing strategy, according to an X post from Attorney General Pam Bondi. 

Upon announcing the new policy on Aug. 11, he said criminals in the city are not afraid of the police because “nothing ever happens to them.”

“The most recent victim was beaten mercilessly by local thugs,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “… Perhaps it should have been done a long time ago, then this incredible young man, and so many others, would not have had to go through the horrors of Violent Crime. If this continues, I am going to exert my powers, and FEDERALIZE this City. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”

Since the mandate, many have come forward to share their stories of crime victimhood in the city. 

Speaking to Trump during a cabinet meeting on Tuesday, reporter Iris Tao of New Tang Dynasty Television recalled being pistol-whipped by a robber who demanded her wallet, phone and laptop in the city in 2023. 

“And that has deeply traumatized myself and my family ever since,” she said, NBC News reported. I’ve never dared to walk in the street of D.C. at night, ever, and my family was extremely worried. So, Mr. President, thank you so much for what you’re doing right now, because such incidents involve not just me, but also my family.”

Trump told Tao, “I bet you see a big difference in the streets right now,” according to the Associated Press.

Former Washington Examiner reporter Anna Giaritelli shared her story of being attacked by a stranger near Union Station in 2022. 

“I was randomly attacked by a homeless man and fought with him for my life and survived. And that event has had a significant impact on my life, changed the course of my life,” Giaritelli told Fox News Digital. 

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She was sexually abused during the incident by a man who turned out to be a repeat offender who was let out of jail after the assault. 

“Through the year and a half that we waited for our case to go to trial, this man was arrested five more times, including for wielding a machete on Capitol Hill. And the judge chose in all five times to release him from jail back onto the street,” Giaritelli said. 

Gregg Pemberton, the chairman of the D.C. Police Union, offered support for Trump’s crackdown.

“President Donald Trump’s takeover this month of the D.C. police was a drastic but necessary step. On its own, however, it won’t be enough to turn around a force in free fall,” Pemberton wrote in an op-ed published by The Washington Post.

“Unlike most of the country, the D.C. Council still embraces reactionary anti-police thinking. Council members have passed a slew of bills that prioritized wrongheaded ideology over safety, both yours and that of officers whose duty it is to protect you. Chief among those was the Comprehensive Policing and Justice Reform Act, which Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) vetoed and Congress, including a Senate controlled by Democrats, sought to repeal,” Pemberton wrote. 

Fox News’ Joseph A. Wulfsohn, Brian Flood and Alba Cuebas-Fantauzzi contributed to this report.