There seems to be a disconnect between Americans’ perception of crime rates and the actual amount of crime in the United States.

A new Gallup poll showed 70% of respondents believe crime has gone up since last year, when 63% said crime had risen from 2013 levels. But government data has shown a downward trend in crime rates from the mid-1990s to the current decade.

“According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, the overall violent crime rate for rape, sexual assault, robbery, aggravated assault and simple assault fell from 80 victimizations per 1,000 persons in 1994 to 19 per 1,000 in 2010,” according to Gallup.

Justin McCarthy at Gallup pointed out that Americans’ perceptions of crime “are not always on par with reality. Despite government data showing declining violent crime rates in the U.S. over the past two decades, majorities of Americans in Gallup’s trend still maintained that crime had increased nationally.”

The survey also found that crime victims were no more likely to think the crime rate had increased than non-victims were. In addition, since the election of President Barack Obama, conservatives and Republicans are far more likely than liberals and Democrats to say the crime rate is up.

-Noel Brinkerhoff

To Learn More:

More Americans Say Crime Is Rising in U.S. (by Justin McCarthy, Gallup)

When Daylight Saving Time Ends, Crime Goes Up (by Noel Brinkerhoff, AllGov)

West Virginia, the Only State to See a Rise in Crime over 18 Years, also has Greatest Increase in Imprisonment Rate (by Steve Straehley, AllGov)