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. 

Police officers set up a roadside checkpoint on 14th street Northwest on Aug. 13, 2025 in Washington, D.C. U.S. President Donald Trump announced plans to deploy federal officers and the National Guard to the District in order to place the DC Metropolitan Police Department under federal control and assist in crime prevention in the nation’s capital. (Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images)

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 (HSI), swarmed the capital. The city went 12 days without a homicide, and as of Wednesday, 1173 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.”

Members of the Drug Enforcement Administration and police patrol near Navy Yard in Washington, D.C., U.S., Aug. 14, 2025.  (REUTERS/Jose Luis Gonzalez)

“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!”