July 01, 2003

LINCOLN, Neb. — Most rural Nebraskans believe rural areas are safer than cities, but concern over crime and personal safety is growing, according to the University of Nebraska's eighth annual Nebraska Rural Poll.

"Rural Nebraska is still overall a very safe place, but we're beginning to see cosmopolitan ideas about crime and safety in rural areas. Historically, that hasn't been an issue rural people have spent much time thinking about," said John Allen, the NU Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources rural sociologist who heads the poll.

The scientific survey was mailed in March to 6,500 randomly selected households in the 87 rural counties defined as rural at that time. This year's results are based on 3,087 responses.

Nearly 70 percent of those surveyed said terrorism is a greater threat in cities than in rural areas. And 60 percent expect more people will move to rural areas from cities in the next decade because they believe it's safer.

However, only 17 percent agreed that they feel safer in their community now than five years ago while 56 percent disagreed and 27 didn't know.

Over half of respondents said crime has increased in their community compared with five years ago and 76 percent agree drugs are a problem. Methamphetamine use is a growing problem in rural areas. The Nebraska Commission on Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice's 2001 statistics show crime increased 2 percent to 4 percent in towns under 99,000 and dropped 6 percent in county areas outside of municipalities. That compares with increases of 10 percent in Omaha and 6 percent in Lincoln.

"There's been a slight increase in crime but it may be that the perceived risk is greater than the reality in some cases," Allen said.

The days when everyone left their doors unlocked are gone for most rural Nebraskans, the poll showed. Only 20 percent of respondents leave their home unlocked at night and 24 percent leave their keys in their car.

However, 37 percent generally walk alone at night, 34 percent let their kids walk to school alone and 32 percent let children walk downtown alone. People in north central Nebraska were most likely to leave their doors unlocked, walk alone and let their kids walk to school and downtown alone. South central Nebraskans were least likely to leave their doors unlocked at night or let their children walk to school or downtown alone. Farmers and ranchers were most likely to leave their doors unlocked.

Most rural Nebraskans haven't changed their behaviors in response to concerns about crime. Twenty-nine percent said they limited the times and places where they go by themselves and 24 percent beefed up home security because of crime worries. Only 5 percent have purchased a handgun and 1 percent enrolled in self-defense classes.

The poll revealed some big differences between smaller and larger communities in terms of people's sense of personal safety and concerns about crime. For example, only 6 percent of respondents from towns with populations under 500 said violent crime was a problem in their community compared with 44 percent for people from communities 10,000 or larger.

"We still see that sense of safety in our small communities," Allen said. For example, more than half the people from towns under 500 people said they let their kids walk downtown alone compared with 16 percent in towns with 10,000 or more population.

In small towns, everyone knows each other and people are concerned about what others think of their actions, he said.

"In a sense, there's a police force embedded in the community because they're watching each other and they care what their neighbors think," Allen said. "Issues tend to get resolved informally. It's like a built-in control mechanism."

When it comes to keeping an eye out for problems, rural Nebraskans count heavily on each other. Nearly 75 percent of respondents said they rely on neighbors to watch their property when they're away.

"It doesn't surprise me that they rely most on the neighbors instead of law enforcement or other institutions," Allen said. "That's built into the culture."

Safety has long been a strong selling point for rural life, Allen said. To preserve that sense of safety, rural communities may need to enhance or formalize their traditions of neighbors watching out for each other and include newcomers in that network. That could include volunteer or buddy systems to address unique local needs.

"People are already thinking about the need to formalize these relationships, to become more visible and to report what they see," said Becky Vogt, the poll's manager.

The poll is the largest annual survey of rural Nebraskans' perceptions on quality of life and policy issues. It provides a rural perspective to policy- and decision-makers. This year's response rate was 48 percent. The margin of error is plus or minus 3 percent.

Complete results are available online at Nebraska Rural Poll.

The poll is conducted by IANR's Center for Applied Rural Innovation with funding from the Partnership for Rural Nebraska and IANR's Cooperative Extension Division and Agricultural Research Division.

7/1/03-VM

Contacts:

Becky Vogt
Center for Applied Rural Innovation
Nebraska Rural Poll Project Manager
(402) 329-4821

John C. Allen - Ph.D.
Center for Applied Rural Innovation
Director
(402) 472-1772

Vicki Miller
Research Communications Coordinator
(402) 472-3813

Department:
Agricultural Economics