fter a period of twenty years (1975–1995) in which the state’s crime index rate increased substantially, the level of reported crime in South Carolina has been declining over the past five years. For example, after reaching a high in 1996, the FBI’s Uniform Crime Index for South Carolina has declined each year since. Similarly, the highest level of violent crime in South Carolina was reported in 1994 and has decreased since that time (U.S. Department of Justice, 2001).

What impact has this decrease in the reported level of crime had on public perceptions? Are South Carolinians less concerned about their personal safety and that of their property? Do they believe that criminals are becoming more or less violent? How do they feel about specific criminal-justice related issues, such as the drug problem in their community or gun control? In this article, we explore some of the South Carolina public’s views on these and other questions related to perceptions of crime in the state.

BACKGROUND

Each year since 1996, the University of South Carolina’s College of Criminal Justice has conducted its “Fear of Crime Poll” as part of the South Carolina State Survey.¹ As part of this survey, approximately 800 South Carolinians age 18 or older are interviewed by telephone. In the survey conducted in 2001, for example, interviews with 843 respondents were conducted between April 12 and May 17. While this article focuses on the results of the 2001 survey, several of these questions have been included in each of the surveys since 1996, and for these we will describe not only the current views of South Carolinians but also how these opinions may have changed or remained the same over time.

CONCERN FOR PERSONAL SAFETY

One aspect of fear of crime considered in this study was perceptions of personal safety. One measure of this was responses to the question, "Are you more concerned about your personal safety today than you were five years ago?"  The results for this item for the complete sample and for various subgroups of the population are provided in Table 1. The pattern of results to this question shows a steady decline in the percentage of respondents who gave a “yes” response to this question between 1996 and 1999. This percentage leveled off at about two-thirds of those responding in the three most recent surveys. So although the percentage of South Carolinians who report being more concerned about their safety today than they were five years ago has declined since 1996, close to 70% are more concerned today, despite the fact that the rate of reported crime has declined during this period.

Some interesting patterns are also evident in the varying responses to this question over time among subgroups. Although the percentage in each group who were more concerned about their personal safety declined during this period, this decrease was more notable in some groups than in others. In each year, the percentage of women who reported being more concerned about their personal safety was significantly higher than the percentage for men, and over time the percentage of men who report more concern for their personal safety than five years ago has decreased more than this percentage has declined among women. In 1996, close to 75% of men reported being more concerned about their safety. This percentage declined to 51.4% in 2000 and stands at 58.3% in the 2001 survey. Among women, 87.1% reported greater concern about their personal safety in 1996, and while this percentage has declined over time, it remains at 80% in 2001. Women are more concerned about their personal safety than men and the gap between their perceptions has increased over the past five years.

A similar pattern of differences was found across education groups and by level of family income. Throughout this period, those with a college degree or with family incomes above $50,000 are less likely to report greater concern about their personal safety today compared to five years ago than were those with less education or from lower income families. The distinction between individuals with less education or with lower incomes has also appeared to widen. For example, among those with less than a high school education, 88.7% reported more concern about their personal safety in 1996 compared to 73.4% among those with a college degree. In 2001, this percentage was 88.2% among those who had not finished high school and 56.8% for those with a college degree. Similarly, although the percentage of respondents with family incomes less than $15,000 who reported more concern about their personal safety declined from 89.5% in 1996 to 81.3% in 2001, the corresponding percentage among those with incomes of $50,000 or more was lower (78.5%) at the beginning of this period and declined even further–to 61.7%–in the 2001 survey.

The responses of Blacks and Whites to this question have also differed significantly throughout this period. In each year, a higher percentage of Black respondents than Whites reported being more concerned about their personal safety than they were five years ago. In 2001, 80.0% of Black respondents, compared to 65.6% of Whites, indicated they were more concerned about their personal safety today than five years ago.

Overall, South Carolinians are more concerned about their personal safety today than they were five years ago. This concern is particularly evident among those with less education or from lower income families, women, and Blacks.

CONCERNS ABOUT PERSONAL PROPERTY

As was the case with the question on concern about personal safety, the percentage in each subgroup who reported being concerned about the safety of their personal property declined during this period. The declines in this item were more consistent across subgroups, although those age 65 or older and those with a college degree exhibited a sharper decline in the percentage of “yes” responses during this period than did other groups.

In general, group differences on the question of concern about safety of personal property compared to five years ago were not as large as those reported for the item on personal safety, although several of them were significant. One of the largest differences is across education groups, with the views of those with a college degree tending to be distinct from those with less education. In the 2001 survey, for example, 51.1% of those with a college degree said they were more concerned about the safety of their personal property than five years ago, compared to almost 70% or more in the groups with less education. Women are consistently more likely than men to express concern about the safety of their personal property. In 2001, for example, 73.6% of women, compared to 61.7% of men expressed greater concern for the safety of their personal property. While the difference between races is not as large, in each of these years a higher percentage of Black than White respondents has indicated greater concern about the safety of their personal property, with the 72.3% of Blacks and 65.6% of Whites expressing greater concern in 2001.

PERCEPTIONS OF NEIGHBORHOOD CRIME

In addition to questions about concern for the personal safety and that of their property, respondents were asked about perception of whether crime in their neighborhood had increased or not. The results for the question, presented in Table 3, exhibit a pattern different from those found on the items on concern for safety. While there was a slight decline in the percentage who felt that crime in their neighborhood had increased between 1996 and 1999, there was a sharper decline between the 1999 and 2000 surveys (from 51.8% to 44.3%), with the percentage in 2001 (50.5%) approaching its 1999 level.

The decline in the percentage who thought that crime in their area had increased between 1999 and 2000 and the corresponding increase between 2000 and 2001 was particularly evident in several groups. Among those with a college degree, for example, this percentage went from 49.1% in 1999 to 30.5% in 2000 and back to 45.1% in 2001. Similarly among those with family incomes between $30,000 and $50,000, or $50,000 and above, the percentage who thought crime had increased varied from about 50% in 1999 to less than 40% in 2000 and back to 50% in 2001. Similar changes were evident among respondents from suburban areas, those from the Midlands and the Lowcountry, and men.

Focusing on the results of the 2001 survey, South Carolinians are evenly divided in their views of whether crime had increased in the past year, with half believing that it had and half feeling it had not. As with the questions on concern about personal safety and property, there are differences across education groups, only in this case it was the responses of those who had not completed high school that were distinct from those with more education. Among those who had not finished high school, 63.2% thought that crime had increased, while less than half of the other three groups expressed this view. A higher percentage of women than men (54.5% to 44.6%) also believed that crime in their area had increased in the past year. Other group differences on this question were not statistically significant.

ARE CRIMINALS MORE VIOLENT?

The results for the question of whether criminals are more violent today than they were five years ago are extremely stable over time. In each of the six years in which data have been collected, more than 80% of those surveyed felt that criminals are more violent today than they were five years ago. The results from the 2001 survey, both for the complete sample and across subgroups, are consistent with those of previous years (see Table 4). Over time, the perception of South Carolinians is that criminals are becoming increasingly violent.

The largest group differences were found across levels of education. Even though a large majority of all groups believes that criminals are more violent today than they were five years ago, those with less education are generally more likely to express this view than those with a college degree. In 2001, the percentage reporting that criminals were more violent today ranged from 94.4% among those with less than a high school education to 72.8% among those with a college degree. Although the differences were not as large, a similar pattern was found across income groups, with those with lower family incomes generally more likely to believe that criminals are more violent today. In each of these years, a higher percentage of Black respondents than Whites felt that criminals are more violent, with the difference (92.6% to 78.9%) reaching significance in 2001. Women were also more likely than men to express the belief that criminals are becoming more violent, with 87.2% of women, compared to 78.4% of men, giving this response in the 2001 survey.

PERCEPTIONS OF ILLEGAL DRUG USE

Another topic of interest in this study was the public’s perception concerning illegal drug use. Three questions related to this issue were included in this survey: concern about the problem of illegal drug use, whether drug abuse was a problem in their community, and opinion on whether this problem has increased, decreased, or remained about the same. Since these items had not been asked in each of the previous studies, only the results from the 2001 survey are presented.

Results for the question on concern about the problem of illegal drug use for the complete sample and by subgroup are presented in Table 5. As these figures show, 60.4% of South Carolinians are greatly concerned about illegal drug use, 29.6% were concerned, and only 10% were either not very concerned (7.1%) or unconcerned (2.8%).

Significant differences on this question were found across age groups and between men and women. The responses of those ages 18 to 29 were distinct from those of other groups. Of all subgroups examined, this youngest age group was the only one in which less than a majority expressed great concern about this problem: 41.9% of those 18–29 said they were greatly concerned, compared with 64.3% of those 30–44, 67.5% of those 45–64, and 70.2% of those age 65 or older. A higher percentage of women (67.9%) than men (52.8%) expressed great concern about this problem; men were more likely to say they were concerned.