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Welcome to Pollapalooza, our weekly polling roundup.

Rising murder, aggravated assault and auto theft rates have increased concern about crime among the American public. According to polling from YouGov/The Economist, the share of Americans who say crime is the most important issue facing America has increased since President Biden took office to a greater degree than any issue except national security. Relatedly, a May 22-25 Fox News poll found that 73 percent of registered voters thought there was more crime nationwide than there was a year earlier. Only 17 percent thought there was less crime, and 7 percent thought the level of crime had stayed about the same.

Fewer, but still a majority, believed crime was up in their local area, too: 54 percent, compared with 28 percent who thought there was less crime in their area and 15 percent who thought it was about the same. (Its worth noting, though, that Americans perpetually believe that crime is on the rise, even when it is not.)

A Gallup poll earlier this year also found that only 27 percent of Americans were satisfied with the nations policies to reduce or control crime, and that 65 percent were dissatisfied. Thats a big change from 2020, when 47 percent were satisfied and 49 percent were dissatisfied.

Altogether, this has sparked a narrative that the rise in violent crime poses a political problem for Democrats, who are the ruling party and also traditionally perceived as softer on crime. But at this point, its not really clear that the crime issue will hurt Democrats and anti-police progressives politically. For starters, Americans are actually pretty divided on what the best solution to stopping crime is. In a YouGov/Yahoo News poll from May 24-26, 32 percent of adults said that law enforcement is not tough enough on most offenders but about the same amount, 27 percent, said law enforcement is too tough on most offenders. (Eighteen percent thought law enforcements level of toughness was about right, while 22 percent werent sure.)

The public is also pretty sharply divided on whether Democrats or Republicans are better on the issue of crime. When asked whether Biden or former President Donald Trump has done a better job handling crime, 34 percent of respondents to the YouGov/Yahoo poll said Trump, while 32 percent said Biden. (Fifteen percent thought the two were about equally good on crime.) Of course, this just mirrors peoples existing partisan preferences a majority of Republicans preferred Trumps handling, while a majority of Democrats preferred Bidens but that just bolsters the theory that crime isnt an issue thats changing anybodys mind.

Similarly, in elections so far in 2021, it also doesnt look like crime is driving voters toward more conservative candidates. True, this weeks Democratic primary for mayor of New York City focused heavily on crime, and the winner was most likely Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams, arguably the races most pro-police candidate. But there are plenty of counterexamples: In the Democratic primary for Philadelphia district attorney, incumbent Larry Krasner the George Washington of the progressive criminal-justice movement handily defeated a moderate who attempted to tie Krasners policies to Philadelphias rising crime rate. And in this months special election for New Mexicos 1st Congressional District, the Republican candidate ran what was virtually a single-issue campaign on crime and policing issues; Democrat Melanie Stansbury ended up winning by 25 percentage points, exceeding the districts D+18 partisan lean.

Its possible crime emerges as a wedge issue in the 2022 midterms. But so far, theres little evidence that it is helping one party over the other.

According to FiveThirtyEights presidential approval tracker, 52.6 percent of Americans approve of the job Biden is doing as president, while 42.2 percent disapprove (a net approval rating of +10.5 points). At this time last week, 51.9 percent approved and 42.0 percent disapproved (a net approval rating of +9.9 points). One month ago, Biden had an approval rating of 54.3 percent and a disapproval rating of 40.3 percent, for a net approval rating of +14.0 points.

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Americans Are Worried About Crime, But That Doesnt Mean Theyre Blaming Democrats - FiveThirtyEight

Democratic Reps. Ayanna Pressley (Mass.), Cori Bush (Mo.) and other progressives are introducing new legislation seeking to transform the nations public safety response by funding and researching non-carceral alternatives to police.

The Peoples Response Act, co-led by Reps. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) and Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.), would create a new public safety agency in the Department of Health and Human Services to fund research and grants into health-centered investments in public safety.

This would include launching a federal first responders unit to support states and local governments with emergency health crises, as well as some $2.5 billion for those governments and community organizations to hire first responders who are mental health and substance abuse counselors.

For too long, our flawed approach to public safety has centered criminalization, surveillance and incarceration, rather than care, justice and healing, Pressley said in a news release.

Bush said that the vision for the legislation is to transform public safety into a system of care rather than criminalization, healing rather than incarceration, and prevention rather than policing.

Last year, in the wake of the police killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and other Black people, activists renewed calls to defund police departments and reinvest in communities, namely in alternative responses to 911 calls, including with mental health expert responders.

In several high-profile cases, people have been killed by police after a 911 call seeking support for a mental health crisis or substance abuse issue.

In 2019, Fort Worth police shot and killed Atatiana Jefferson, a 28-year-old Black woman, in her own home after responding to a neighbors request for a welfare check.

In January, a police officer in Killeen, Texas, fatally shot Patrick Warren, who was Black and unarmed, on the lawn of his home, after his family called for mental health support.

And earlier this year, after a neighbor called 911 reporting a man who appeared drunk in a park in Alameda, California, police arrived and handcuffed Mario Gonzalez, thenkneeled on his back for minutes, killing the 26-year-old Latino father.

Since the wave of protests last summer against racist police violence, some cities have responded by redirecting funds budgeted for law enforcement to alternative public safety efforts.

Last week in Oakland, California, for instance, the city council voted to use some $18 million (out of an over $300 million annual police budget) to fund alternatives to policing, including having unarmed fire department staff respond to nonviolent 911 calls.

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Democrats Introduce Bill To Invest In Public Safety Alternatives To Police - HuffPost

DNC Chair Jaime Harrison, Secretary Jason Rae and LGBTQ Caucus Chair Earl Fowlkes released the following statement on the 52nd anniversary of the Stonewall uprising and the 51st anniversary of the first Pride parades:

Fifty-two years ago, transgender and lesbian women of color took to the streets against the injustice and discrimination the LGBTQ community had endured for years. A year later, Pride was born and the tradition of fearlessly celebrating their identities began. Today, we celebrate the hard-won progress forged by the trailblazers who put their lives at risk for the chance for all of us to live our true selves freely and without fear.

President Biden and Democrats are dedicated to achieving equality for LGBTQ Americans. In his first weeks in office, President Biden signed executive orders directing federal agencies to prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity, and reversing the Trump administrations unacceptable ban on transgender individuals serving openly in the military. Not only has the president shown commitment to empowering the LGBTQ community with policies, hes demonstrated it with his administration personnel: Nearly 14 percent of the Biden administrations agency appointees identify as LGBTQ. The administration also includes the first openly gay person confirmed to serve in the Cabinet, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg; and the first openly transgender person to be confirmed by the Senate, Assistant Secretary for Health Dr. Rachel Levine.

There is more to be done to ensure that the right to live without persecution is cemented everywhere. This is why Congress must pass the Equality Act to codify into law civil rights protections for LGBTQ individuals and families across the nation. Pride is about resilience, justice, and love. We must recommit ourselves to the work for LGBTQ equalityso everyone can live freely and proudly.

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DNC on 52nd Anniversary of Stonewall Uprising - Democrats.org

Democratic senators, led by Cory Booker of New Jersey, say they worry about how Google's products and policies may perpetuate bias. Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images hide caption

Democratic senators, led by Cory Booker of New Jersey, say they worry about how Google's products and policies may perpetuate bias.

A group of Democratic senators is urging Google parent company Alphabet to investigate how its products and policies may be harming Black people.

In a letter to the tech giant's CEO, Sundar Pichai, and other executives, Sens. Cory Booker of New Jersey, Ron Wyden of Oregon, Mark Warner of Virginia, Ed Markey of Massachusetts and Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut said they worried about bias and discrimination, both in the products Google makes and the way it's handled workplace diversity.

"We are concerned about repeated instances where Alphabet missed the mark and did not proactively ensure its products and workplaces were safe for Black people," the senators wrote.

They highlighted several examples of Google products that appeared to produce biased results or potential harms for Black people.

"Google Search, its ad algorithm, and YouTube have all been found to perpetuate racist stereotypes and white nationalist viewpoints," they wrote.

They cited recent reporting from Vice showing that a new app to identify skin conditions hadn't been trained using a "sufficiently diverse" dataset and therefore wasn't effective on people with dark skin.

They also pointed to the controversial firing of prominent artificial intelligence ethicist Timnit Gebru, who was the first Black woman to be a research scientist at Google as well as a vocal critic of the company's diversity efforts.

The senators suggested the company has not made good on racial justice pledges Pichai made in a letter to employees and congressional testimony following the murder of George Floyd a year ago.

The first step, the senators said, is a "racial equity audit." They want Google to work with outside civil rights and legal experts to identify the root causes of any discrimination within the company and its tools, and what it can do to address the problems.

Google and other tech giants have long come under criticism for making slow progress in diversifying their largely white workforces. At Google, for example, only 3.7% of U.S. staff is black, according to its 2020 diversity report, compared with 2% in 2013.

The companies have also been slammed for not paying enough attention to the impact of their technologies on people of color and the way their design and development may perpetuate bias.

In their letter to Google, the lawmakers pointed to Facebook and Airbnb, which have done similar audits examining racial bias and discrimination on their platforms and within their companies after outside pressure from activists and lawmakers.

Facebook's audit, completed last year, gave a damning assessment of what the outside auditors called the company's "vexing and heartbreaking decisions" to prioritize free speech over civil rights.

The senators said a similar investigation is long overdue at Google.

"As Congress and the federal government do more to protect communities of color from civil rights violations online, companies need to do their part by examining areas for improvement and ensuring their workplaces are safe for members of these communities," they wrote.

"We can no longer rely on promises and need Alphabet to take affirmative steps to protect Black people and other people of color."

Google did not respond to NPR's request for comment.

Editor's note: Google, Facebook and Airbnb are among NPR's financial supporters.

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Senate Democrats Urge Google To Investigate Racial Bias In Its Tools And The Company - NPR

AUSTIN, Texas Texas Democratic Party Chair Gilberto Hinojosa issued the following statement on the results of the Fort Worth mayoral election:

Deborah Peoples fought a strong campaign, and I thank her for stepping forward to offer Fort Worth her powerful leadership and true commitment to building a better future for Texas fifth largest city. While we didnt make it over the line tonight, the historic turnout in todays elections shows the groundswell of Democratic energy that is rising in Fort Worth and across the state. Texans came out in high numbers today to vote against the failures of Texas Republicans, and to demand the leadership they deserve.

To everyone who added their support in our push to elect a proven leader and the first Black mayor of Fort Worth, thank you for your hard work to bring change and progress that all Fort Worth communities can share in. From registering voters to defending voting rights, Texas Democrats will keep organizing to defeat Texas Republicans and fighting like hell for Texas future.

Chair Deborah Peoples issued the following statement:

From the beginning, this campaign has been about building One Fort Worth. While one nights results may not have been what we wanted, the historic turnout sent a clear message that voters are crying out for leaders who accept Texans of all backgrounds, races, and walks of life. I will continue the fight to give more communities a seat at the table, expand prosperity to all our neighborhoods, and elect leaders who truly represent all the people.

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Texas Democrats' Statement on the Results of the Fort Worth Mayoral Election - Texas Democratic Party