POLLING
Denver voters favor root cause solutions, and they want to fund what works
CCJRC commissioned the national polling firm Public Policy Polling to conduct interviews with 659 Denver voters regarding their perspectives on crime, safety, and potential solutions.
We found that Denver voters want REAL solutions.
Denver voters want To:
1
Prioritize Community Services
Voters believe housing, mental health care, youth programs, and jobs do more to improve safety than more police or harsher sentences.
2
Focus on
Root Causes
Prevention and treatment are seen as smarter, more effective solutions than increased criminal legal interventions.
3
Invest in
what works
Denverites believe in tackling crime through community-based root cause interventions and stabilization services.
Denverites strongly prefer prioritizing prevention to reduce crime
By a strong majority and across demographics, voters surveyed believe that increasing access to support services such as housing, mental health/substance use treatment, youth programs, and job programs is the most effective strategy to reduce crime and improve neighborhood safety.
2025 POLL: What is the most effective way to reduce crime?
Denverites support funding for community-led approaches.
Denver voters strongly support increasing funding for stabilization services and community-led approaches to improve public safety.
2025 POLL: Would you support increased funding to city departments to increase stabilization support services like mental health, substance use treatment, affordable housing, youth programs, and job programs?
2025 POLL: Would you support increased funding for community-based crime prevention, victim services, and programs to support reentry and reduce recidivism?
Funding Safety Should Mean Funding What Works
Denver dramatically underfunds the types of programs that are most effective at improving community safety, while allocating hundreds of millions to the criminal legal system that has an inherently limited reach. Overuse of the criminal legal system can actually destabilize families and communities, increase the likelihood of reoffending, and drive deeper cycles of harm.
Let’s Get Real
Denver needs sustained investment in the trusted relationships, cultural understanding, and on-the-ground experience that only community can bring.
Let’s get real about safety. Let’s build it together.
