Local crime is a key issue for most people living in urban areas. A city or county might be divided into geographic areas known as zones, districts, sectors, precincts, or other designations; each area might have a police department assigned to it, and the police department may publish regular crime reports. These reports include details about individual crimes and the broader patterns of crime in a given jurisdiction. They can help local citizens gain a better understanding of their safety landscape and identify patterns that might warrant specific police attention.
About seven-in-ten Americans say they often or sometimes get news about local crime from friends, family members and neighbors, or from local media outlets. A smaller share report getting such news from social media or locally focused apps. Most people who get this kind of information say they are extremely or very interested in what local officials are doing to address crime (50%) and in tips about how to stay safe (47%). Black Americans are more interested than other racial and ethnic groups in all aspects of local crime news.
People aligned with either political party are generally satisfied with their sources of local crime news, although Democrats (and those who lean Democratic) are more likely than Republicans to say that various news outlets exaggerate the amount of crime in their community and are unfair to some people based on race and ethnicity. Nearly identical shares of Republicans and those who lean Republican say they are very or extremely concerned about local crime, suggesting that vigilance is a critical part of safety in communities.
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