What the data says (and doesn’t say) about crime in the United States
The two primary sources of government crime statistics both paint an incomplete picture, though efforts at improvement are underway.
Majority of Public Favors Giving Civilians the Power to Sue Police Officers for Misconduct
While declining shares give police forces positive marks for their use of force, treatment of racial groups and officer accountability, there is little support for cuts in spending on local policing.
7 facts about guns in the U.S.
Three-in-ten U.S. adults personally own a gun. A majority of Americans say gun laws should be stricter than they are today.
Share of Americans who favor stricter gun laws has increased since 2017
Despite deep partisan divisions on the issue, there has been a modest rise in support for stricter gun laws in the United States since 2017.
What the data says about gun deaths in the U.S.
A look at the data on murders, suicides and other gun deaths in the U.S. and how they have changed over time.
Despite recent violence, Chicago is far from the U.S. ‘murder capital’
St. Louis led the nation with 66.1 murders per 100,000 people in 2017. It was followed by Baltimore, Detroit, New Orleans and Baton Rouge.
Americans say U.S. colleges make the grade, but many say public schools don’t measure up
While Americans say their nation’s colleges compare relatively well with those in other countries, they offer more negative assessments of U.S. public schools.
Nearly two-thirds of U.S. secondary schools have sworn officers on site – but not all the time
The share of U.S. public secondary schools with sworn officers on site has increased in the past decade.
A majority of U.S. teens fear a shooting could happen at their school, and most parents share their concern
More than half of U.S. teens say they are worried about the possibility of a shooting happening at their school, with one-in-four saying they are very worried.
In 2017, Americans narrowly opposed allowing teachers and school officials to carry guns
Last year, more than half of U.S. adults said they would oppose allowing teachers and officials to carry guns in K-12 schools.
