(POLL) Record high number of Americans say crime has worsened

The following is an excerpt from Gallup News.

Americans are more likely now than at any time over the past five decades to say there is more crime in their local area than there was a year ago.

The 56% of U.S. adults who report an increase in crime where they live marks a five-percentage-point uptick since last year and is the highest by two points in Gallup’s trend dating back to 1972.

Public perceptions of an increase in crime at the national level have also edged up since last year, as 78% say there is now more crime in the U.S. This is tied with the 2020 measure.

The record high was 89% in 1992, when crime rates soared in the U.S.

Americans have consistently been more likely to say crime is worsening in the U.S. than in their local area since Gallup began simultaneously tracking Americans’ impressions of both crime levels.

The latest findings, from an Oct. 3-20 poll, are well above the 44% average for local crime and 67% average for national crime since 1989.

This year’s record-high perception of a rise in local crime builds upon last year’s sharp increase on the measure.

In addition to the 56% who say there is more local crime this year, 28% think there is less and 14% think the level has stayed the same.

In Great Numbers, Republicans Think Crime Is Up Locally, Nationally

As is the case with many perceptions of national conditions, partisanship plays a significant role in shaping Americans’ assessments of crime.

Last October, with Joe Biden in the White House and after the FBI released its 2020 crime statistics showing a sharp increase in murders in the U.S., the percentage of Republicans who said there was more local crime increased from 38% to 67%.

Independents’ perception that local crime was worse also edged up, while Democrats’ view was essentially unchanged.

Currently, 73% of Republicans say crime in their area has risen, while 51% of independents and 42% of Democrats say the same.

Perceptions of national crime trends are also influenced by the match between a person’s own party identification and the party of the president. After rising slightly last year, Republicans’ negative assessment of crime in the nation rose further so that they now nearly unanimously think crime is up nationally.

A majority of Democrats think crime in the U.S. has risen since last year.

That outlook is similar to their view in 2021 but slightly better than in the last two years of Donald Trump’s presidency, when as many as 75% thought U.S. crime was up.

For their part, 74% of independents think there is more crime nationally, similar to the past two years (Trump’s last year and Biden’s first).