A new poll reveals which of the 16 largest U.S. cities Americans believe to be "safe," and it appeared Chicago didn't fare well on the list.
The Gallup Poll, which asked at least 1,000 U.S. adults during the month of July whether they consider various cities "to be safe to live in or visit," regardless of whether they have visited, found Chicago ranked among the lowest, behind only Detroit.
According to the survey, just 27% of respondents said they believe the city to be "safe," followed by Detroit's 26%.
Meanwhile, cities like Dallas and Boston saw 74% and 72% of respondents, respectively, deemed safe, the poll showed.
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Coming out above Chicago on the ranking were Los Angeles and New York, both of which saw 41% of respondents say they believe those cities are safe.
The ranking marks a large shift in the perception of Chicago's safety compared to a previous version of the poll conducted in 2006. Then, 47% of respondents said they believed the city was safe.
The latest number is more in line with the city's rating in 1990.
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"Between 1990 and 2001, Americans’ perception of Chicago as a safe city rose to 53%, where it remained until it fell slightly in 2006," Gallup noted.
The poll noted, however, that political leanings may have impacted the views of the respondents.
When looking at respondents who consider themselves Democrats or Democrat-leaning independents, 41% reported they believe the city is safe. That's compared to just 11% of Republicans or Republican-leaning independents.
"With the exception of Dallas and Miami, Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents are substantially more likely than Republicans and Republican-leaning independents to perceive each city as safe," Gallup noted. "On average, the party gap today across the 16 cities is 29 percentage points, much greater than the two-point gap in the 2006 poll."
Still, Chicago and Detroit were the only cities on the list where a majority of Democrats did not believe the city was a safe place to live or visit.
Chicago is currently in the midst of transitioning to a potential new police superintendent and is a little over three months into new Mayor Brandon Johnson's term. Public safety was among the top concerns voters cited in the lead-up to Johnson's election, in which he promised to promote 200 new detectives.
“We’re working towards it,” Johnson said in a recent interview with NBC Chicago. “Listen, we have a confirmation that is coming in soon with a new police superintendent so we’re bringing all of our stakeholders together to make sure that we have real, smart constitutional policing, leading towards the type of investments that are going to be needed to ensure that public safety is fully reached using the full force of government.”
A recent report from The Associated Press indicated the numbers of murders and shootings in Chicago so far in 2023 are down in both categories by 5% and 10%, respectively, according to the most recent department crime statistics. However, overall major crime rates are up 35% so far this year over 2022.
"Safety in this city has to be a collective effort, one that transcends blocks and neighborhoods," Larry Snelling, Chicago's expected new police superintendent, said. "It is critical that we share the responsibility amongst law enforcement, city departments and sister agencies, local government, our federal partners, our residents and community leaders."
