Record-high 56 pct in U.S. perceive local crime has increased: Gallup

Customers shop at a supermarket in Washington, D.C., the United States, on Oct. 28, 2022. (Photo by Ting Shen/Xinhua)

Public perceptions of an increase in crime at the national level have also edged up since last year.

NEW YORK, Oct. 31 (Xinhua) -- Americans are more likely now than at any time over the past five decades to say there is more crime in their local area than there was a year ago, reported Gallup on Friday.

The 56 percent of U.S. adults who report an increase in crime where they live marks a five-percentage-point uptick since last year and is the highest by two points in the survey company's trend dating back to 1972.

Public perceptions of an increase in crime at the national level have also edged up since last year, as 78 percent say there is now more crime in the United States.

"This is tied with the 2020 measure. The record high was 89 percent in 1992, when crime rates soared in the U.S.," said the report.

This year's record-high perception of a rise in local crime builds upon last year's sharp increase on the measure, it added.