Crime

Americans' views of national conditions remain sour, with 18% satisfied with the way things are going and the Economic Confidence Index holding at -43.

Majorities of Americans predict negative outcomes in 2023 for a host of economic, political, societal and international issues.

Men and women in the U.S. differ starkly in their propensity to own a gun and their preferences for the nation's gun laws.

The 57% of U.S. adults who think laws covering the sale of firearms should be made more strict is down nine points since June but remains above the 52% measured in 2021.

Crime became an issue in the recent midterm elections, underscoring the importance of understanding what lies behind Americans' views of the issue.

While 55% of Americans support the death penalty, a sharp partisan divide remains. More than twice as many Republicans as Democrats favor it.

Registered voters rate the economy as the most important factor influencing their vote this midterm election cycle, but abortion and crime are close behind.

A record-high 56% of U.S. adults say there is more local crime than last year, while 78% -- tied for the highest since 1993 -- perceive more national crime.

Read a review of where the American public stands on gun control, immigration, and climate change.

Eight in 10 Americans say they worry about crime and violence in the U.S. a great deal (53%) or a fair amount (27%).

Americans' satisfaction with a variety of aspects of U.S. life and public policy areas remains depressed from 2020, with many declining further since 2021.

Nearly one in three Americans (32%) say that drug use has been a cause of trouble in their family.

Americans' worry about becoming a victim of 13 crimes is trending upward this year after edging mostly downward in 2020.

Americans' view that local crime has gotten worse in the past year has jumped 13 percentage points to 51%, the highest in over a decade.

U.S. household crime victimization rates remain lower than they were between 2009 and 2016, but they are not as low as in 2020.

Fifty-five percent of Americans favor the death penalty for convicted murderers, marking the fourth consecutive year below 60%. Support has not been lower since 1972.

A dwindling percentage of U.S. adults say the criminal justice system is "not tough enough" (41%), while an expanded 21% say it is "too tough" and 35% maintain it is "about right."

Americans are more likely to perceive crime in the U.S. as having increased over the prior year (78%) than they have been at any point since 1993.