Perceptions of crime improve in Gallup survey

Americans’ perceptions of local and nationwide crime have improved, according to a new Gallup poll, with fewer people saying crime in their area is higher.

Forty-nine percent of Americans said the amount of crime within their “area” is higher than a year ago in the new poll, while 34 percent said the amount of crime within their area is lower than the previous year.

Last October, Gallup found that 55 percent of Americans said the amount of crime within their area was higher than the year before, while 28 percent said the amount of crime within their area was lower.

The poll also looked at Americans’ perceptions of nationwide crime, with 64 percent saying the amount of crime “in the U.S.” is higher in comparison to the previous year and 29 percent saying the amount of crime in their country is lower versus last year.

Gallup found last October that 77 percent of Americans said the amount of crime in the U.S. was higher in comparison to the previous year, while 16 percent said the amount of crime in their country was lower.

Crime was an issue pushed by Republicans with some success and some failures in the 2022 midterms, and it is an issue former President Trump and some other GOP candidates have returned to in this campaign.

“Americans’ perceptions of whether crime is increasing in the U.S. and how serious a problem it is for the nation have been politically polarized since 2000,” Gallup senior editor Megan Brenan said in an article on the recent survey. “This is particularly true in recent years, when partisans’ views of crime have tended to change based on the party of the president."

Recent statistics from the FBI on crime showed a 3 percent drop in violent crime in the U.S. last year, including a notable decrease in the number of homicides.

The Gallup survey featured 1,023 people and a plus or minus 4 percentage point margin of error at the 95 percent confidence level. The poll was taken between Oct. 1 and 12.