Observations
78 percent of Americans worry about crime and violence a great deal or a fair amount, the same as health care, the number one issue-Gallup.
56 percent of Americans believe that crime needs to be reduced-Pew.
68 percent of Americans believe that crime is increasing-Gallup.
Two-thirds of gun owners say protection from crime is a major reason they own a gun-Pew.
Author
Leonard Adam Sipes, Jr.
Thirty-five years of speaking for national and state criminal justice agencies. Interviewed multiple times by every national news outlet. Former Senior Specialist for Crime Prevention for the Department of Justice’s clearinghouse. Former Director of Information Services, National Crime Prevention Council. Post-Masters’ Certificate of Advanced Study-Johns Hopkins University.
Article
New data is offered from Gallup (below) as to the top concerns of Americans; crime and violence is the nation’s second most pressing concern.
Three additional and recent surveys are also included in this article to provide a well-rounded view of American public perception of crime and violence.
I read from many sources that crime is not a top priority for Americans. Then I turn on the television and I’m bombarded with either local news programs where seventy percent of the stories are crime related or national crime shows featuring violent victimizations.
Advocates for less incarceration and “smart on crime” initiatives decry American’s preoccupation with crime stating that we have never lived in safer times while ignoring significant increases in homicides and violent crime in recent years, Crime in America.
From the four indexes below, advocates clearly seem out of step with American public opinion.
Gallup
Crime is now the nation’s second most pressing concern.
Americans’ worry about crime and violence has been above 50% two other times, in 2001 and in 2016 — years when it tied as the top issue overall.
Gallup asked about the availability of guns for the first time this year given the prominence of the issue since the Parkland, Florida, school shooting in mid-February.
78 percent of Americans worry about crime a great deal or a fair amount, the same as health care, the number one issue.
The availability of guns was fourth with 70 percent of Americans who worry a great deal or a fair amount
Drug use was fifth with 70 percent of Americans who worry a great deal or a fair amount.
Terrorism was tenth with 68 percent of Americans who worry a great deal or a fair amount.
Thus when added together, you could make a case for crime, violence and related issues as the top concern of Americans, Gallup.
Pew
The data from Pew place reducing crime in the middle of American concerns with 56 percent believing that the issue needs to be addressed. But it ranks higher than race relations, drug addiction, the budget deficit, immigration or the military. It’s not far off the mark for poverty or jobs or the environment.
If related topics were included like terrorism and drug addiction, it would be much higher in the American psyche; possibly the top concern.
Another chart from Pew indicates that more people are concerned about crime starting from a recent low of 44 percent (2011) to today’s 56 percent. The data reached a high of 78 percent in 1994, Pew.
Gallup
Per Gallup, 68 percent of Americans believe that crime is increasing in the United States, essentially unchanged from 70% last year.
There is no difference between Republicans and Democrats– 66% of each say there is more crime nationally, which is astounding given the dramatic difference between the political parties as to other national surveys, Gallup
Pew
Two-thirds of gun owners say protection from crime is a major reason they own a gun. This is up considerably from previous surveys, Crime in America.
Policy Considerations
There are endless criminological and advocacy organizations promoting “smart” initiatives that fundamentally change the way we deal with offenders, but most gain little traction.
As long as Americans are this concerned with reducing crime or believe that crime is increasing, progressive change will be an uphill battle.
While transforming the criminal justice system is necessary, insulting Americans with, “we have never lived in safer times,” seems counterproductive.
Undoubtedly, school and mass shootings influence the data.
New Data from Gallup
Contact
Contact us at crimeinamerica@gmail.com.
Media on deadline, contact leonardsipes@gmail.com.
My book: “Amazon Hot New Release”- “A Must Have Book,” Success With The Media: Everything You Need To Survive Reporters and Your Organization available at Amazon
This is an ad-free website.
Reviews are appreciated.
2 Replies to “78 Percent of Americans Worry About Crime-Gallup”
Comments are closed.