Nearly two-thirds of Americans say U.S. crime is serious in all-time high: Survey

Nearly two-thirds of Americans say that the U.S. crime problem is either "extremely" or "very" serious, marking a new high, according to a poll released Thursday.

In addition to the 63% of Americans who say crime is an extremely or very serious problem, 29% of Americans say it is a "moderately" serious problem in the U.S., according to a Gallup survey.

Meanwhile, just over half of Americans (53%) say that crime is at least moderately serious in the area where they live. 

Additionally, 77% of Americans say there is more crime in the U.S. than there was a year ago. This is down from an all-time high of 89% in 1992, but it is still among one of the worst years for how Americans perceive crime to be in the U.S.

Furthermore, 28% of Americans say over the past year they or a member of their household has been a victim of one or more of seven crimes, including theft, burglary and assault. This is just below an all-time high of 29% in 2016 who said they or a member of their home was a victim.

The survey was conducted Oct. 2-23, 2023, with a random sample of 1,009 U.S. adults and it has a 4% margin of error. 

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