September 17, 2025 - The Ipsos Consumer Tracker asks Americans questions about culture, the economy and the forces that shape our lives. Here's one thing we learned this week.
Why we asked: The unprecedented use of federal agents and the National Guard continues in Washington, D.C., and might spread to other U.S. cities. I heard about a conversation someone had with some of the troops. The troops seemed surprised that having tanks parked outside the train station might actually people feel less safe rather than safer.
What we found: About half of Americans feel that having more police officers on the streets in their communities would make them feel safer. That is true across pretty much every demographic split. But there is a lot of fall-off from there. Only 40% say that armed military and federal agents make them feel safer.
For Hispanic Americans, who have been the target of many of these immigration actions, a majority say they feel less safe. That is true of Democrats, higher-income Americans, and those who live in America’s suburbs. Asian Americans are split evenly between feeling more or less safe. Few Americans (21%) say that having more individuals openly carrying firearms would make them feel safter while a majority (53%) would feel less safe.
Republicans are the only demographic where more said “safer” than “less safe” but even there, only 32% would feel safer. Even those who keep guns in their homes or garages say they would feel less safe with more open carry. Similarly, few say that having armed teachers would make them feel safter.
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Source: Ipsos
