CentralSquare Voice of the Citizen Survey finds nearly one in three Americans fear an active shooting incident in their community

Research from CentralSquare shows that Gen Z and Millennials, who likely grew-up with active shooter drills, are twice as concerned about active shooters than baby boomers

Lake Mary, Fla., Oct. 02, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Active shooter incidents are taking their toll on the American public’s perception of safety. In a recent study of over 5,000 Americans spanning all states and backgrounds, CentralSquare found that nearly one in three respondents expressed concern about an active shooter incident occurring within their community.

According to the CentralSquare Voice of the Citizen Survey, CentralSquare found that, in addition to fears of active shooter incidents, almost 30% don’t feel safe walking around their community at night.

However, the study found that these concerns vary among various demographics. The younger generation, who grew-up with active shooter drills in schools, expressed more concern for shooting incidents – 46% of Generation Z (born between 1997 and 2001) and 39% of Millennials (born between 1981 and 1996) said that they were either worried or very worried about active shooters, compared to only 22% of Baby Boomers (born between 1946 and 1964).

To combat these concerns, the study found that citizens feel technology can help create safer communities and minimize events of violence. In fact, 54% of survey respondents request more money go toward improving police technology.

Citizens themselves are calling for further advancements in the public sector to improve their neighborhood community. In fact, the study found that 87% want better investments in communications technology to connect first responders from neighboring communities. In addition to integrated communications among responders, citizens are calling for:

• Big data for smart policing – 91% want responders to stay ahead of and prevent incidents.
• Integrated capabilities to prevent active shooter incidents – 84% would support the use of AI technologies to spot and identify a shooter or prevent a serious crime.

“We’re seeing the American experience is changing, as anixety levels around public safety are rising, but agency budget and personnel numbers often remain unchanged,” said Simon Angove, CEO of CentralSquare. “By focusing on innovative technologies to improve both officer and citizen safety, we can help create safer and smarter communities for future generations.”

Take a more in-depth look at the Voice of the Citizen Survey: Safety findings online here.

About the CentralSquare Voice of the Citizen Survey

CentralSquare commissioned a blind survey of 5,035 U.S. citizens 18 and older distributed across all 50 states. The results of this study will be released as part of an ongoing series examining the state of American citizens. Responses covered all ethnicities, gender identities and income levels to provide an accurate sampling of the U.S. population. Findings have a margin of error of +/- 1%.