The League this month conducted its own survey as part of our Public Safety First campaign. Launched June 6, the campaign began with an initial email sent to 400,000 registered voters. Voters who responded to our first email were invited to participate in our survey.

On the survey question of how important is it that public safety be maintained as the top priority in the new City budget, 94 percent of respondents answered "very important" and 4 percent answered "somewhat important." In response to the question of how important a role have LAPD officers played in the reduction in the City's crime rate over the past four years, 86 percent answered "very important" and 10 percent answered "somewhat important."

When voters were asked in our survey how they would rate their level of satisfaction with the way City Hall is setting priorities in the City budget, 62 percent answered either "highly dissatisfied" or "somewhat dissatisfied."

It is clear that LA voters recognize that the City is facing a budget crisis. Yet they want City government to maintain full funding of public safety to continue the crime reduction we have worked so hard to achieve. They understand that lowering the crime rate is a prerequisite for economic recovery in our City.

The results of the LAPPL survey strongly indicated that the public opposes reducing law enforcement resources in Los Angeles, including the number of officers policing the City and the civilian support staff who back them. Residents already feeling economically vulnerable must not be made more vulnerable to crime by reducing the City's commitment to law enforcement and public safety.