Americans’ sense of safety stagnates despite rising confidence in police: Gallup

Americans’ sense of safety remained the same year-to-year in 2022 while confidence in local police forces rose, according to Gallup’s annual Law and Order report. 

The report, published Tuesday, found that the U.S.’s 2022 score on Gallup’s Law and Order Index, a measure based on a number of questions related to respondents’ experiences with crime and law enforcement, was at 83 out of a possible 100. Higher scores on the index indicate that respondents in a country feel more secure, according to Gallup.

The U.S.’s score remained the same as the prior year, stagnating following a 4-point decline from its score of 87 in 2020.

The county’s latest score of 83 is the same as the score for the world overall, which is also unchanged from last year’s results, according to Gallup.

Pollsters found, however, that despite those index scores staying at the same level, confidence in local police has slightly increased.

The share of North American respondents who have confidence in their local police forces rose 1 percentage point from the prior year, according to Gallup, increasing to 76 percent of respondents from 75 percent in 2022. Such confidence also rose in the world overall, climbing 2 points to 72 percent of all respondents.

Gallup surveyed individuals aged 15 and older from more than 140 countries and areas worldwide.

Tajikistan received the highest score on the index with 96, while Liberia had the lowest score with 49. 

Afghanistan, which received the lowest score in 2021, saw its score skyrocket from 51 to 76 in 2022 as residents’ reports of assaults and theft declined. A record percentage of Afghans — bolstered by a solid majority of men — reported feeling safe walking alone at night, according to the report. 

The 2022 surveys were conducted with a total of approximately 1,000 or more respondents. The margin of error ranges from 2 to 5.5 percentage points.