2023 Public Safety Poll

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Data for Social Good (DSG) collaborated with Courage California Institute to survey 968 registered voters across California in October and November 2023. The aim was to understand Californians’ perspectives on public safety. The poll was conducted in English, Spanish, Chinese, Korean, Punjabi, Tagalog, and Vietnamese, with a deliberate oversampling of demographic communities that have experienced significant growth in the past decade, particularly voters of color

Defining Public Safety

According to the poll, the top three choices that Californians believe defines public safety are:

  • Walking down the street at night comfortably (37.3%)
  • Not worrying about car theft/break-ins (13.8%)
  • Police patrols in their neighborhood (10.4%)

When asked about what are the biggest public safety issues in their community, majority of respondents stated that car break-ins (25.5%) were the biggest issue, followed by drug use/sales (14.9%), and retail theft (13.5%).

Community Safety

Poll results indicate that majority of California voters consider their community a safe place to live (35.3%) while others report that crime has either increased (32.3%) or remained relatively the same (18%) in the past 12 months.

When broken down into demographics:

Democrats (42.1%), NPP (39.5%), and those who are over 66 years old (44%) feel most safe in their communities.

Republicans (46.2%) and 56-65 year olds (37%) believe that more crime has increased

Most ethnic groups feel relatively safe in their community

Public Safety Responsibility & Community Satisfaction

When considering who is responsible for public safety, respondents emphasized the roles of the police and elected officials. The majority attributed responsibility to:

  • police / sheriff (35%)
  • elected representatives (34.6%)
  • myself and my community (21.6%)

The overall community (49.1%) is satisfied with the job the local police is doing with White respondents (55.1%) more so than others, those who are 56+, and Republicans (57.4%).

In terms of police responsibility, about half of Californians believe that these responsibilities should be reduced when topics relating to the homeless, the mentally ill, and substance abuse. Among those who stated that police responsibilities should be reduced, majority of Californians (64.8%) agree with redirecting a portion of funding for social services .

In summary, Californians are overall satisfied with public safety, associating it with feeling secure while walking at night, not worrying about theft, and having visible police patrols. Despite varied perceptions of crime trends, the general sentiment towards public safety remains positive.

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