Registered voters in Fresno overwhelmingly support police reform, according to a new survey conducted by the Fresno County Civic Engagement Voter Table and UC Merced Community and Labor Center.
Nearly 78% of the 3,497 registered voters who participated in the survey between August and September said they “support elected officials who advocated for police reform.”
Just 16% of survey respondents called for more funding for law enforcement to reduce gang violence. That’s in sharp contrast to the Fresno Police Department, which Tuesday asked for a $10 million increase to its operating budget.
Fresno police officials hadn’t seen the survey and couldn’t immediately comment Wednesday.
“As the city chooses to invest in a strategy that hasn’t worked, the counterbalance is this research,” said Venice Curry, who helped prepare the survey, during a Wednesday news conference. “The counterbalance is the community saying that is not the way we’re going to solve these issues.”
Nearly 80% of responses were split between more job opportunities for people with criminal records, more youth job opportunities, and public funding for community and violence prevention programs. About 6.7% of respondents said “other.”
Curry said the police department had not commissioned the survey, but the researchers were happy to share the results regardless “because we know they are valuable,” she said.
“Our mission is not to wait for someone to invite us to the table,” Curry added.
Support for police reform was uniform across the city’s seven districts, the survey found. District 1 (central Fresno including the Tower District) showed the highest support for reform with 82.2% of residents, and District 6 (northeast Fresno) had the lowest, still with 71.6% support.
The survey also found that 76% of Fresno residents felt over-policing was a problem in their neighborhood.
Coronavirus survey results
The study also took a closer look at the effects of the coronavirus pandemic. One in two respondents said their household had lost a job or had work hours reduced because of the virus. Communities of color have faced the greatest challenges.
About 57% of Latino households, 54.6% of Black households and 54.5% of Asian households experienced income reductions, whereas 42% of white households were impacted by the coronavirus.
Lower-income households were hit hardest. Over 60% of households earning less than $25,000 per year experienced income loss, whereas 33.4% of households with incomes at or above $75,000 per year lost income during the pandemic.
The survey did not ask voters their party affiliation. Researchers said participants were randomly selected. The sample was not only representative of voters in Fresno, said researcher Paul Almeida, but all seven city council districts.
Nearly 80% of participants said they participated in the March election, and 95% of respondents said they planned to vote in the general election.
