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Public perceptions about crime in the U.S. often don’t align with the data. Opinion surveys regularly find that Americans believe crime is up nationally, even when the data shows it is down. In 18 of 22 Gallup surveys conducted between 1993 and 2018, at least six-in-ten Americans said there was
more crime in the U.S. compared with the year before, despite the generally downward trend in national violent and property crime rates during most of that period.
Pew Research Center surveys have found a similar pattern. In a survey in late 2016, for instance, 57% of registered voters said crime in the U.S. had
gotten worse since 2008, even though FBI and BJS data shows that violent and property crime rates
declined by double-digit percentages during that span.
While perceptions of rising crime at the
national level are common, fewer Americans tend to say crime is up when asked about the
local level. In all 21 Gallup surveys that have included the question since 1996, no more than about
half of Americans have said crime is up
in their area compared with the year before.