40% of Americans are afraid to walk alone at night, poll says

By Brendan Rascius, The Charlotte Observer

Concerns about certain crimes are at their highest levels in decades, causing Americans to isolate themselves from their communities, according to new polling.

The spike in fear comes as violent crime has decreased nationwide, while property crime has ticked up, according to the FBI.

A recent Gallup poll found that 28% of Americans worry frequently or occasionally that they will be murdered, according to a Nov. 16 news release. That’s a near-record high.

The Gallup poll surveyed 1,009 adults between Oct. 2 and Oct. 23, and has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.

Meanwhile, half of U.S. adults said they worry their car will be stolen or broken into, 37% worry they’ll be mugged and 32% are concerned about getting attacked while driving — near-record highs.

Additionally, the vast majority of Americans, 72%, worry they will fall victim to identity theft, according to the poll.

This heightened apprehension has had a detrimental effect on the daily lives of Americans, causing them to curb commonplace activities.

Four in ten Americans — the largest number in three decades — are afraid to walk within a mile of their homes alone at night, according to the poll. The last time concerns about walking alone were so high was in 1993, when nationwide crime was near an all-time high, according to a 2016 report from the Brennan Center for Justice.

One-third, 34%, of Americans said concerns about crime prevent them from driving in certain areas of their communities, while 28% say these concerns keep them from attending events, including concerts, fairs and sporting games.

More than one-quarter, 28%, of those polled said their anxiety about crime has prevented them from speaking to strangers.

Fears out of step with crime data

These heightened fears are largely out of step with the downward trend of violent crime in the United States, according to government data.