Most Mid-Hudson Valley residents think their community allocates enough resources to protect its citizens from crime.
72% of residents in the Mid-Hudson region believe their community spends enough money to protect them from crime, and 21% believe more resources should be expended. Although most residents in the region are satisfied with how their community allocates resources on this issue, there has been a slight shift since 2002. Five years ago, 77% of Mid-Hudson Valley residents were satisfied with their communities spending on public safety and only 16% thought more money should be spent in this area.
Most residents in all seven counties of the Mid-Hudson Valley feel positively about the level of money spent fighting crime. However, the proportion of Sullivan County residents who think too little is being spent is considerably higher than the proportion of residents who feel this way in the other Mid-Hudson Valley counties.
The perception that sufficient resources have been allocated to address public safety is not shared by all residents. In fact, there is a wide racial divide. 40% of African American residents think too few resources are expended toward protecting residents from crime compared with 26% of Latinos and 19% of white residents who share this view.
Residents with low income are more likely to believe their community is spending too little money to fight crime than residents with a household income over $30,000 a year.
