Fox News Poll: Almost three-quarters of voters think crime is on the rise

More than 7 in 10 voters think crime is on the rise nationally amid a backdrop of escalating crime rates in major American cities and FBI warnings for local law enforcement to prepare for increases over the summer.

That’s according to the latest Fox News poll released Wednesday and conducted May 22-25, before Wednesday’s fatal mass shooting at a VTA light-rail yard in San Jose, California.

The poll finds that compared to last year, majorities think crime is increasing both nationally (73 percent say there is "more" crime), as well as in their local communities (54 percent).

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Republicans (83 percent) are more likely than independents (73 percent) and Democrats (62 percent) to say crime is up.  Equal proportions of Hispanics (75 percent), Blacks (74 percent) and Whites (72 percent) think crime has risen nationally compared to last year.

One year following the May 25 death of George Floyd and the intense nationwide protests and calls to defund police departments that followed, the poll shows most people have trust in law enforcement.  

Seventy-two percent of registered voters have "a great deal" (36 percent) or "fair amount" (36 percent) of trust and confidence in police and law enforcement.  Twenty-seven percent have "not very much" or "none at all" when it comes to confidence in those wearing the blue.

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Blacks (54 percent), while still over half, are much less likely to trust the police compared to Hispanics (67 percent) and Whites (76 percent).

Republicans overwhelmingly trust the police (87 percent), as do majorities of independents (66 percent) and Democrats (61 percent).

Urban voters (77 percent) are more likely to think crime is up than those living in suburban (71 percent) and rural (70 percent) areas.  City-dwellers are also the most likely to distrust the police (32 percent have "not very much" or "none at all" confidence in the police) compared to their suburban (26 percent) and rural (24 percent) counterparts.

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Over half of voters think gun violence is a "major threat" to the stability of the United States (57 percent).  While that’s not the top threat to the country, it comes in around the same level as decaying infrastructure (59 percent a major threat), racism (58 percent), big government (56 percent), how we educate children (56 percent), coronavirus (55 percent), illegal immigration (55 percent) -- and a bit ahead of climate change (51 percent), illegal voting (51 percent), socialism (49 percent) and voting laws (48 percent).

Political divisions (64 percent) and unemployment (61 percent) are considered the top major threats to U.S. stability.

Conducted May 22-25, 2021 under the joint direction of Beacon Research (D) and Shaw & Company (R), this Fox News Poll includes interviews with 1,003 randomly chosen registered voters nationwide who spoke with live interviewers on both landlines and cellphones. The total sample has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus three percentage points.