New survey finds 62% of Texas residents worry daily about their safety

SafeWise recently released the 2021 results of it’s annual State of Safety survey.

Compared to other states, the overall level of daily concerns about crime and safety are among the highest for residents of Texas. Researchers say this ranking takes into account all categories of concern that were covered in the survey.

The categories included violent crime, gun violence, property crime, package theft, police violence, and the pandemic.

• 62% of Texas residents said they were concerned about their safety on a daily basis, compared to 47% of people nationwide. Also, 60% of Texans believe that crime is on the rise.
• 61% of respondents in Texas said they were concerned about gun violence on a daily basis, higher than the national average of 53%.
• 47% of Texas residents worry about police violence daily, while 60% say they have confidence in law enforcement.
• 65% of Texas survey participants use some form of property protection (US 62%) with dogs nabbing first place—33% use dogs or another guard animal to help protect their home.

Responses to the question “What keeps you up at night?”:

● “Someone breaking into my car or house while I am away or sleeping worries me.”
● “The crime rate has risen in my community.”
● “Just being safe every day. With all the crazy things going on right now, you have to be sure you and your family are safe.”

As for the most Noteworthy Findings on the national level

● Despite lower overall concern, experience with crime increased over the past three years. Violent crime experience rose 2% and property crime experience jumped 16% between 2019 and 2021.
● Nearly 7 in 10 believe crime is on the rise, despite crime rates decreasing consistently for the past two decades.
● Package theft is the most-worrisome property crime concern, with nearly 5 in 10 afraid it will happen to them and 2 in 10 experiencing a package theft incident in the past 12 months.
● Gun violence is the most top-of-mind violent crime issue, with 5 in 10 feeling high concern every day.
● 4 in 10 worry about police violence on a daily basis, but nearly 6 in 10 have confidence in law enforcement’s approach to crime prevention.
● 6 in 10 Americans are highly concerned about the COVID-19 pandemic, with 4 in 10 believing it has affected their personal safety and 3 in 10 believing it has affected the security of their property.

• In 2020, we added questions about mass shootings.
• In 2020, we also narrowed our focus to the most impactful and measurable issues: property and violent crime.
• We expanded our questions to address gun violence as a whole this year, not just mass shootings.
• This year, SafeWise also added questions about package theft, police violence, and the COVID-19 pandemic.