A new report has found that a majority of Americans think the legal system is letting criminals out too soon.
The survey comes from the Rasmussen Reports, which found that 57% of U.S. voters think that courts are too lenient on criminals, while 26% think courts are sending too many criminals back to prison.
Respondents in the survey were asked about their thoughts on the legal system, as a whole, including prison sentences, repeat offenders, and bail.
When it comes to bail, 91% of respondents said they think judges should consider the immediate danger a suspect puts on the community if released when considering where they set bail. Additionally, 71% said judges considering a suspect’s risk at being in the community was “very important.”
Overall, the majority of respondents disagreed with the recent discussion around “bail reform,” as they feel it would only increase the number of criminals on the streets.
As for who feels courts are releasing too many criminals from jail, Republican voters (77%) led the way, followed by independent (56%) and Democrat voters (38%).
The Rasmussen Reports survey included responses from 1,000 likely voters and was conducted from Feb. 21-23. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.
The survey comes as the Department of Justice has taken a stance on a recent bipartisan proposal on sentencing reform, Reuters reported.
The proposed legislation would restrict a judge’s ability to impose longer prison sentences for criminals based on alleged crimes, even if they had been acquitted of the allegations by a jury.
The proposal came from the U.S. Sentencing Commission, but it has so far been opposed by the DOJ, which sent a letter to the commission expressing that acquitted conduct should not be excluded from what is considered “relevant conduct” when sentencing.
The U.S. Senate also recently voted on a sweeping criminal justice reform bill that was passed by local D.C. lawmakers. The bill, which was a yearslong effort to relook at the city’s criminal laws, was blocked in the Senate Wednesday.
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