Does the Public Want Criminal Justice to Become More Lenient?

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In a word, no.  This is the unambiguous finding of a new Gallup poll featured on Sentencing Law and Policy.  But of course the spin is very different.

Here is how Prof. Doug Berman starts his entry, which I encourage you to read in full:

This new Gallup release, headlined “Fewer Americans Call for Tougher Criminal Justice System,” reports on new polling number concerning pubic views on the US criminal justice system.  Here are the details:

Americans’ belief that the U.S. criminal justice system is “not tough enough” on crime is now half of what it was in Gallup’s initial reading of 83% in 1992.  The latest measure, at 41%, is the lowest on record and down slightly from the previous reading in 2016 — although it remains the view of the plurality.  At the same time, there has been a seven-percentage-point uptick among those who say the system is “too tough” (21%) and no change among those who think it is “about right” (35%).

Americans’ perceptions of whether the criminal justice system in the U.S. is too tough, not tough enough or about right in its handling of crime since 1992.  The percentage saying it is not tough enough has fallen from 83% in 1992 to 41% now.  At the same time, the percentage saying it is about right has risen from 12% in 1992 to the current 35%, and those who think it is too tough has increased from 2% in 1992 to 21% now.

Here is a graph of the poll results:

If you look at the actual numbers rather than read the spin, what do they say?  They say that slightly more than three-quarters of Americans think the system is not tough enough (the plurality) or about right.  About one-fifth of Americans think it’s too tough.  Or to put it another way, three and a-half times as many Americans think the system isn’t tough enough or is about right where it is as think it should become more lenient.

When the “stay-where-we-are-or-get-tougher” side outnumbers the “get-more-lenient” side three and a-half to one, is that a mandate to cut back on policing and water down sentencing?

Joe Biden, you just won the election with the weakest coattails in more than 50 years.  Do you hear what the great majority of our people are saying about where we should go with criminal justice?