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Worry About Sniper Attacks Up Sharply Among Easterners

Worry About Sniper Attacks Up Sharply Among Easterners

Sniper attacks have become one of decade's top news stories

by Frank Newport, David W. Moore and Joseph Carroll

GALLUP NEWS SERVICE

PRINCETON, NJ -- Questions and answers about the public's reaction to the serial sniper attacks in Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C., based on the latest CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll conducted Oct. 21-22, 2002.

1. How worried are Americans that they personally might be victims of a sniper attack?

About one-third of Americans (33%) say they are either "very" or "somewhat" worried that they, or someone in their family, will be shot by a sniper. Only a week ago, a slightly smaller 26% of Americans felt that way.

How worried are you that you or someone in your family will be shot by a sniper -- very worried, somewhat worried, not too worried, or not worried at all?

2. Are some groups more worried than others?

More than half -- 52% -- of Easterners are worried that they or a member of their family might become the victim of a sniper attack. This marks a sharp increase in worry among Easterners from last week, when just 31% said they were worried.

In the other regions of the country, the increase in worry from last week to this week was only from one to four percentage points. About a third of Southerners and a quarter of residents living in the Midwest and the West are worried.

How worried are you that you or someone in your family will be shot by a sniper -- very worried, somewhat worried, not too worried, or not worried at all?

Women are more worried than men, by 43% to 23%. The increase in worry over the past week is also greater among women than men. Last week, 19% of men were worried, compared with 32% of women. The change shows an 11-point increase among women, but only a four-point increase among men.

3. How worried are Americans that a sniper attack could occur in their community?

Americans are more worried about sniper shootings in their communities than they are worried that they personally will be victims. Almost half (46%) say they are "very" or "somewhat" worried that a sniper attack could occur in their communities, while 29% say they are not too worried, and 23% are not worried at all.

How worried are you that a sniper attack like this could happen in your community -- very worried, somewhat worried, not too worried, or not worried at all?
Oct 21-22, 2002

Also, similar to the worry about being a victim, women are much more worried (52%) about this eventuality than are men (38%).

How worried are you that a sniper attack like this could happen in your community -- very worried, somewhat worried, not too worried, or not worried at all?
Oct 21-22, 2002

4. How anxious are people about the sniper shootings in comparison with the other problems that face the nation?

In the latest survey, we included a question that asked Americans to indicate how anxious they were about five different problem areas. More than half, 52%, indicated that they have a "great deal" of anxiety about the sniper shootings. Exactly the same percentage of those interviewed said they had a great deal of anxiety about terrorism in the United States. A slightly smaller 44% have a great deal of anxiety about the possibility of war with Iraq, 41% about the economy, and just 33% about automobile accidents that cause serious injuries. (In terms of the actual probability of personally being affected, of course, automobile accidents are by far the most dangerous of these eventualities.)

How much anxiety does each of the following cause you -- a great deal, a moderate amount, not much, or none at all? How about --
Oct 21-22, 2002

5. Do Americans think the police will catch the sniper(s)?

The American public overwhelmingly says "yes." More than eight in 10 respondents, 84%, say the police will find the person(s) responsible for the sniper shootings. Only one in 10 adults surveyed said the police will not find the shooter(s), and the rest have no opinion.

Do you think the police will ever find the person or persons responsible for the sniper shootings, or not?
Oct 21-22, 2002

Women are slightly less likely than men to think that the culprit(s) in the sniper shootings will be apprehended.

6. Do Americans see a link between the sniper shootings and international terrorist networks?

The poll finds that the significant majority of Americans do not believe the sniper shootings are connected to Osama bin Laden or his terrorist network. Seven in 10 Americans say the sniper shootings are not the work of someone associated with bin Laden's terrorist network, while only one in five say the shootings are connected to bin Laden.

Do you think the sniper shootings are -- the work of someone associated with Osama bin Laden's terrorist network, or do you think they are the work of someone not associated with Osama bin Laden's terrorist network?
Oct 21-22, 2002

Certain groups are more likely to suspect that the sniper shootings are associated with bin Laden's terrorist organization than others.

  • By a margin of 23% to 16%, women are slightly more inclined than men to say bin Laden's network is linked to the sniper shootings. Still, a large majority of both men and women (74% and 66%, respectively) feel the shootings are not associated with terrorism.
  • Older Americans are the most likely of any age group to suspect al Qaeda's link in the sniper case. About three in 10 adults aged 65 and older say bin Laden's network is involved, compared to 16% of people aged 50 to 64, 21% of people aged 30 to 49, and 15% of people aged 18 to 29.

7. The serial sniper shootings are dominating news coverage. They are obviously of high importance to those living in the Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia areas, but how significant a news story is this to Americans across the country?

Very significant. The serial sniper story has become one of the most closely followed news stories of the past decade. Only three other stories out of more than 100 tested since 1991 have scored higher in terms of the percentage of Americans saying they are following it "very closely":

How Closely Public Is Following News Stories: Top 10

Based on % Following Story "Very Closely"

News Story

Date Measured

% Following Very Closely

% Following Somewhat Closely

Terrorist Attacks on Sept. 11, 2001

2001 Sep 14-15

77%

20%

Death of Princess Di

1997 Sep 6-7

55%

30%

Beginning of Ground War in Iraq

1991 Feb 24

53%

31%

Sniper Shootings in Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C.

2002 Oct 21-22

50%

41%

2000 Presidential Election

2000 Nov 11-12

46%

41%

Death of John F. Kennedy Jr.

1999 Jul 22-25

39%

42%

Bush and Gore Tax Proposals in Campaign 2000

2000 Oct 25-28

36%

38%

2000 Presidential Election

2000 Nov 26-27

35%

42%

Elian Gonzalez

2000 Jan 25-26

34%

44%

Firestone Tire Controversy

2000 Sep 7-9

34%

44%

Proposal to Create Social Security/Private Retirement Accounts in Campaign 2000

2000 Oct 25-28

34%

40%

Situation in Kosovo

1999 Apr 13-14

34%

50%

Situation in Middle East

2002 Apr 5-7

34%

45%

Not surprisingly, there are significant differences in the attention being paid to the story by region of country. Those living in the East (and to a lesser degree the South) are much more likely to be paying attention than those in the Midwest and West:

How closely have you been following the news concerning the recent sniper shootings in Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, D.C. -- very closely, somewhat closely, not too closely, or not at all?
Oct 21-22, 2002

8. There have been criticisms of the news media's near-saturation coverage of the sniper shootings. How do Americans rate the media's performance?

Some observers have indeed criticized the media's performance in covering this story, particularly given the probability that the sniper or snipers are watching the news coverage as it unfolds.

The public tilts -- at this point -- toward saying that the media have acted responsibly in their coverage, with 57% agreeing that they have, while 38% say that the media have acted irresponsibly.

The percentage saying the media are acting responsibly in this situation is about average based on a review of the nine additional times we have asked this question about high-profile news stories:

Overall, do you feel the news media have acted responsibly or irresponsibly in this situation?

Situation

Date

Responsibly

Irresponsibly

No opinion

%

%

%

The Terrorist Attacks on New York City and Washington, D.C.

2001 Sep 14-15

86

12

2

The Death of John F. Kennedy Jr.

1999 Jul 22-25

75

22

3

The Shootings at the School in Littleton, Colo., on April 20, 1999

1999 Apr 26-27

67

29

4

The Investigation Into the Disappearance of Chandra Levy

2001 Jul 10-11

61

30

9

Sniper Shootings in Virginia, Maryland, Washington, D.C., area

2002 Oct 21-22

57

38

5

The Recent School Shootings

2001 Mar 26-28

57

37

6

The Investigation Into the Disappearance of Chandra Levy

2001 Aug 3-5

53

39

8

Bill Clinton's Investigation and Impeachment

Process

1999 Feb 4-7

48

50

2

Bush Daughters Issued Citations by Police With Attempts to Buy Alcohol With False ID

2001 Jun 8-10

42

54

4

The Alleged Affair Between Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky

1998 Jan 28

37

55

8

Certainly the current situation has not engendered the high levels of criticism of the media brought about by coverage of the Clinton-Lewinsky affair and the Bush daughters' run-in with police in the summer of 2001. On the other hand, the public is not nearly as positive about the media's current performance as it was about coverage of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the death of John F. Kennedy Jr. and the Columbine (Colo.) High School shootings.

There is little substantive difference in views on the media coverage of the serial sniper attacks between those who are following the story closely and those who are not.

Similarly, those living in the East, who presumably are most exposed to the saturation media coverage, are no different from those living elsewhere across the country in terms of their rating of the media's performance.

Survey Methods

The results below are based on telephone interviews with a randomly selected national sample of 1,018 adults, aged 18 and older, conducted Oct. 21-22, 2002. For results based on this sample, one can say with 95% confidence that the maximum error attributable to sampling and other random effects is ±3 percentage points. In addition to sampling error, question wording and practical difficulties in conducting surveys can introduce error or bias into the findings of public opinion polls.


Gallup https://news.gallup.com/poll/7066/Worry-About-Sniper-Attacks-Sharply-Among-Easterners.aspx
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