Public safety continues to be top of mind for Chicago’s residents and businesses

Following a string of recent corporate departures, the city of Chicago is faced with a perception—and reality—problem regarding crime and public safety throughout the system. A pandemic-era crime surge is seemingly abating, though many challenges remain to making Chicago an attractive destination for residents, corporate and retail investment, high-skilled workers, and tourists—especially as traditionally low-crime neighborhoods have recently witnessed high-profile incidents of violence. To get a sense of how Chicagoans and Cook County residents perceive the state of public safety in the city, The Harris Poll surveyed a representative sample of adults living in the area. Residents seem to favor a “yes, and” approach to improving public safety in the city, as a majority support increasing both the budget of the Chicago Police Department and funding for non-policing community public safety programs.

Most residents in the Chicago area are concerned about public safety, and a notable sum don’t see the problem getting better any time soon. 

An overwhelming majority (96%) of Chicago-area—defined as suburban Cook County and the city of Chicago—residents view public safety in Chicago as important, and four in five (77%) view public safety as a public health issue that is currently impacting Chicago. The average score Chicago area residents give the safety level of their neighborhood is 5.88/10 (with 10 being the highest level of safety). The average score suburban residents give for the safety level in their neighborhood is 6.85/10, while the average score given by city residents is 5.02.

Three quarters (73%) of Chicago area residents think public safety is worse in Chicago compared to other U.S. cities. Two in five (45%) think public safety is going to get worse in Chicago five years from now. 

Many Chicago-area residents want the city government to take the lead on addressing public safety issues. A noteworthy number of Chicagoans think the public perception of police-resident relations in Chicago is worse than the situation in actuality.

Two in five (45%) Chicago-area residents want the local (city) government to take the lead on initiatives related to public safety in Chicago. One in five (17%) want the state government to take lead, and 15% want the federal government to take lead.

Almost half (45%) of Chicago-area residents think the public perception of police-resident relations is worse than the situation in actuality. Two thirds (63%) of Chicago-area residents think Chicago would be safer if there were more funding available for the Chicago Police Department.

Many in the Chicago area think the city would be safer if some of the police department’s budget were reallocated to public safety programs. 

The average rating Chicago-area residents give their support for police is 6.23/10 (with 10 being the highest level of support). Over half (59%) of Chicago-area residents think Chicago would be safer if some of the police department’s budget were reallocated toward non-policing public safety programs.

This survey was conducted online within the United States between September 9, 2022, and September 19, 2022, among 1,001 adults (aged 18 and over) residing in Cook County. Figures for age, sex, race/ethnicity, education, region and household income were weighted where necessary to reflect the composition of the adult population in the City of Chicago and the Cook County suburbs. Propensity score weighting was used to adjust for respondents’ propensity to be online. For this study, the sample data is accurate to within +/- 4.0 percentage points using a 95% confidence level. For more information, please contact Madelyn Franz, or Andrew Laningham.