Voters Demand Proactive Violence Prevention Funding in Virginia
By Brian Burton
Virginia has already made impressive first steps on its path towards meaningful criminal justice reform: in 2021 alone, we saw the state both decriminalize marijuana possession and abolish the use of capital punishment in state prisons. While these victories are commendable in their own right, the work is far from over to reform and reshape the justice system into one that is fair and effective for all residents. To this end, Virginians are eager to see bold policy action taken by the state government to reduce crime in their communities, and a recent Data for Progress poll of likely Virginia voters shows that funding violence prevention and other crime diversion programs are highly popular and effective policy alternatives worth pursuing.
As might be expected, a vocal group of critics has risen in opposition to criminal justice reforms, some of whom attempt to stoke fears of increased crime and less safe communities among residents. Counter to these predictions, and despite years of messaging of this nature, we find that likely Virginia voters do not feel less safe in their communities overall. In fact, when asked how they feel recent criminal justice reforms have affected their communities and their feelings of safety, we find that a strong majority of likely voters feel just as safe, if not more safe, in their communities after their passage. Furthermore, we find that these results are consistent across party lines: while this feeling is held most strongly by Democrats, 80 percent of whom feel as safe or safer after the reforms, we also observe majority support among Independents and Republicans who agree with the sentiment by +34-point and +19-point margins, respectively. After decades of the same criminal justice system, Virginians are getting a taste of what real, more progressive policies might look like in their state and many are already feeling safer for it.
On the heels of this success, it is time for the Virginia legislature to put its money where its mouth is. Currently, the Commonwealth has only allocated $5 million to fund the many violence prevention programs and other alternatives that are already trying to change Virginia’s justice system for the better. Just among themselves, this level of investment is likely to run thin, limiting the reach and impact of such programs to the detriment of oft-forgotten residents. Furthermore, this would likely leave little resources needed to implement new and innovative programs effectively, hindering many of them before they start and preventing others from taking off entirely. In short, these programs need a more serious commitment from the state government, and likely voters in Virginia agree: we find that a plurality of likely voters support increasing funding for violence prevention programs by a +22-point margin. This result is driven by Democrats and Independents in the state, who support spending more rather than less on these programs by +42-point and +21-point margins, respectively, while Republicans are evenly split. With 71 percent of likely voters supporting spending as much or more on these programs, it is once again made clear that Virginians are open to seeing their state government invest in actionable alternatives to keep the public safe.
Fortunately, an obvious source of additional funding already exists: in March of this year, Virginia became the 23rd state in the Union to abolish capital punishment. Beyond being a major victory for human rights and criminal justice reform, the end of the death penalty in Virginia frees up millions of dollars in government funds previously dedicated to its administration in state prisons. In turn, this presents the state government with a prime opportunity to reinvest those funds in bettering Virginia communities. When presented with this reality likely voters in the state overwhelmingly agree: across party lines, an impressive 77 percent of likely voters support redirecting the funds previously reserved for administering the death penalty towards violence prevention efforts throughout Virginia. Democrats offer the highest support with 88 percent in support of the measure, followed by Independents, and Republicans, who support it by +55-point and +43-point margins, respectively. Given its broad popularity, it seems only logical that the government should take the funds once dedicated to a harsh and inhumane punishment and put them towards efforts to reshape and reform the criminal justice system overall.
Violence prevention and crime diversion programs are exactly the type of efforts that could put these funds to good use. They approach the issue of crime reduction with compassion for individuals, and with the knowledge that there are many environmental factors that can lead to increased crime in communities. These programs are backed by research and they have been shown to be effective. Furthermore, these are the types of programs that voters want to see the state government fund: across all likely voters, 75 percent of respondents supported increasing funding specifically for violence prevention and other crime diversion programs. We also find that these results are bolstered by impressively consistent support across party lines, with 81 percent of Democrats, 72 percent of Independents, and 70 percent of Republicans supporting their funding. Virginians want to see effective intervention in their public safety and they know that the best way to address crime is to tackle it directly at the source.
When we drill down further and list specific types of programs, support only grows among respondents. Across all likely voters, 77 percent support funding a wide variety of violence prevention programs including mentorship and re-entry programs, trauma-informed care, and substance abuse treatment. Once again, we observe significant bipartisan support for this funding with Democrats showing the highest support at 82 percent, followed by Independents with 77 percent support, and finally Republicans, 70 percent of whom support funding these programs. Virginians are strikingly united on these policies, and it is not hard to imagine why: they want to see effective, concrete steps to be taken to make their communities safer, and Virginia voters are following the research toward possible solutions. They fully expect their state government to do the same.
Beyond violence prevention programs and other efforts to stave off crimes before they occur, likely voters in Virginia also want to see significant changes to how many individuals are treated upon entering the criminal justice system. When presented with policy alternatives, such as the 251 prison diversion program for first time drug offenses, 73 percent of all likely voters supported creating similar programs for other crimes unrelated to drug possession. We once again observe strong support across party lines with 85 percent support from Democrats, 73 percent from Independents, and Republicans supporting these programs by a +30-point margin. Many people convicted of first-time non-violent offenses were trapped in systems that left them feeling like they had no other option. Sending these individuals to prison, far from being rehabilitative, has often been shown to cause lasting psychological damage and make them significantly more likely to reoffend upon reentering society. Voters in Virginia are ready to see their government pursue new policy tactics, ones that will treat these individuals with compassion, connect them with the resources they need to thrive, and lay the foundation for a safer state well into the future.
Virginians can see that the current way of doing things is not promoting the safe communities that their government promised them. They can plainly see that something must change in the state’s criminal justice system. On top of receiving strong bipartisan support from the public, study after study has shown that violence prevention programs can be another powerful tool at the government’s disposal in their efforts to tackle crime at its source. However, these programs must be adequately funded in order to reach the communities most in need of them. If the state government is serious about enacting meaningful criminal justice reforms for Virgnians, then it’s time for it to put its money where its mouth is.
Brian Burton (@Brian_C_Burton) is a Senior Analyst at Data for Progress.
Methodology
From September 3 to 13, 2021, Data for Progress conducted a survey of 595 likely voters in Virginia using web panel respondents. The sample was weighted to be representative of likely voters by age, gender, education, race, and voting history. The survey was conducted in English. The margin of error is ±4 percentage points.