A YouGov poll reveals 78 percent of French citizens believe crime is rising despite verifiable drops in homicide rates.
Key findings from the exhaustive public opinion research include:
Overwhelming Anxiety: A massive 80 percent of respondents in Italy believe crime is rising, followed by 78 percent in France and 66 percent in the United Kingdom.
Fear of Violence: When asked specifically about violent crime, 77 percent of French citizens and 76 percent of Italians stated it had increased “a lot” or “a bit” in recent years.
The British Anomaly: While majorities in Denmark (74%), Italy (64%), and Germany (62%) maintain confidence in their national police, Britain stands as a stark outlier. Only 43 percent of Britons express confidence in law enforcement, while 53 percent actively distrust them.
The Nordic Exception: Even in Denmark, which frequently ranks near the top of the Global Peace Index, 53 percent of citizens inexplicably believe crime is on the rise.
The paradox is striking. In Italy, where eight out of ten citizens believe crime is escalating, the annual murder rate has actually fallen from 1,917 in 1991 to a mere 327 in 2024. France’s murder rate has similarly dropped from 2.3 per 100,000 people in 1995 to approximately 1.4 per 100,000 today.
https://yougov.com/en-gb/articles/55001-western-europeans-in-six-countries-believe-crime-is-rising