Story Highlights
- New high 63% say America’s crime problem is extremely/very serious
- Majorities say U.S. and U.S. crime higher than a year ago
- 28% say their household has been the victim of a crime
WASHINGTON, DC — Sixty-three percent of Americans describe America’s crime problem as extremely or very serious, up from 54% when last measured in 2021 and the highest in Gallup’s trend. The previous high of 60% was recorded during the initial survey in 2000, as well as in 2010 and 2016.
At the same time, far fewer, 17%, say the crime problem in their area is extremely or very serious, but that’s also an increase from 2021 and the highest trend in one point compared to 16% in 2014.
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In addition to the 17% describing the local crime problem as extremely or very serious, 36% said it was moderately serious, 31% not too serious and 16% not serious at all.
The latest results are based on Gallup’s annual crime survey, conducted October 2-23. Americans have always, and to a large extent, perceived the crime situation in the United States as worse than that in their region.
Public perception of national and local crime problems has worsened since 2020, when 51% thought the crime problem in the United States was extremely or very serious, and 10% said the same about the crime problem local.
Americans also see an increase in crime
More than three-quarters of Americans, 77%, think there is more crime in the United States than there was a year ago, and a majority, 55%, say the same about crime in their region.
Both numbers are similar to those measured by Gallup last year and are among the most pessimistic readings of their respective trends. Gallup has surveyed Americans about the direction of local crime since 1972 and national crime since 1989. The high point of perception of an increase in local crime is 56% recorded last year, while the The national crime record was 89% in 1992. The increase in local crime was about as high as the current rates in 1981 (54%) and 1992 (54%).
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Subgroup differences in perceptions of crime
City residents (24%) are more likely than those living in suburbs (15%) or rural areas (12%) to describe the crime problem in their area as extremely or very serious, but there is no there are no significant differences depending on the region of the country. country.
Similar shares of residents in cities, suburbs and rural areas say there is more crime in their area than there was a year ago. However, regionally, residents in the West are more likely than those in other parts of the country to report an increase in local crime.
Republicans are much more likely than Democrats and independents to view the crime problem in the United States as very serious and to say that crime is increasing, both locally and nationally.
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Criminal victimization rates are also increasing
The worsening perception of the crime problem among Americans corresponds with a recent increase in the percentage of people reporting that crime has affected their household. Overall, 28% say they or someone in their household has been a victim in the past year of one of seven different crimes highlighted in the survey, including vandalism, theft of car, burglary, robbery, armed robbery, sexual assault and battery. The composite figure is up from 23% when the question was last asked in 2021 and 20% – the lowest point of the trend – in 2020.
The highest criminal victimization rate in the Gallup trend, which dates back to 2000, was 29% in 2016. In most years, the percentage was closer to 25%.
Seventeen percent of American adults report having been personally victimized by a crime, up from 14% in 2021 but below the peak of 19% measured in 2014.
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Six percent, the highest number on trend, say they or someone in their household has been the victim of a violent crime, including battery, sexual assault or armed robbery . This figure was 5% in the three previous readings in 2019, 2020 and 2021.
Three percent of adults, unchanged from the previous three measures, have been personally victims of violent crime.
Vandalism and property theft are the most common types of crimes committed against households (16% each) and individuals (9% each). Six percent of U.S. adults report that their home or apartment was burglarized in the past year, while other crimes occurred in fewer than 5% of U.S. households and 1% of Americans.
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Compared to the previous 2021 measurement, vandalism increased the most, rising from 12% to 16% of American households as victims. Property thefts, burglaries and sexual assaults remained statistically unchanged, but up a percentage point or two.
About one in three crimes, or 36 percent, went unreported, roughly in line with the average trend of 35 percent since 2000, according to the survey.
Conclusion
Recent changes in how the FBI measures crime have made it difficult to gauge real-world trends, and the Bureau of Justice Statistics’ National Crime Victimization Survey does not always match FBI data. Meanwhile, Gallup trends indicate there has been an increase in criminal victimization since 2020, based on Americans’ reports of their own experiences over the past year.
Additionally, perhaps in response to the sharp increase in the national murder rate as well as news reports of car thefts and shoplifting, most Americans believe that crime has increased, both in their region and in the United States, over the past year. And a record 63% of American adults now say the crime situation in the United States is extremely or very serious.
Yet crime does not appear to be a major concern for Americans, with only 3% naming it as Americans’ top concern. the most important problem facing the country, far behind other topics, including government (19%), the economy (14%), inflation (14%) and immigration (13%). In 1994, an average of 42% of Americans in four separate surveys named crime as the most important problem facing the United States, making it the top overall problem that year and leading to the passage of significant anti-crime legislation by Congress. Crime remained a major problem in subsequent years, with as many as 10% of respondents mentioning it between 1995 and the mid-2000s. Since then, it has not exceeded 10%, generally falling, as today, in the low single digits.
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