Violence and Society

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.

Three-in-ten U.S. adults personally own a gun. A majority of Americans say gun laws should be stricter than they are today.

Both violent and property crime in the U.S. have declined over the long term, but Americans regularly say crime is up.

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.

A look at the data on murders, suicides and other gun deaths in the U.S. and how they have changed over time.

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.

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.

The share of U.S. public secondary schools with sworn officers on site has increased in the past decade.

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.

Last year, more than half of U.S. adults said they would oppose allowing teachers and officials to carry guns in K-12 schools.