The Angus Reid Institute says their most recent polling shows Canadians are concerned about crime rates in their communities.

New data from Angus Reid finds three-in-five Canadians, or 60 per cent, believe there has been more crime in their community over the last five years. That sentiment is twice as common as it was in 2014, when thirty per cent believed crime was increasing where they lived.

Angus Reid says violent crime has risen since 2014 while other forms of crime have remained stable or even dropped.

As concern over crime goes up, it impacts what Canadians think in other arenas impacted by crime. For instance, almost half – or 47 per cent – of those asked have confidence in the RCMP while 45 per cent do not.

In 2014, two thirds, or 67 per cent of Canadians said they had complete or a lot of confidence in the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Three-in-five, or 57 per cent, of respondents who identify as Indigenous say they do not have confidence in the RCMP. Half (48 per cent) of those who identify as visible minorities, and more than two-in-five (43 per cent) non-visible minorities say the same.

Other findings from the non-profit Angus Reid Institute:

-Three-quarters of Canadians (74 per cent) say their neighbourhood is a safe place to walk alone after dark. This rises to 86 per cent among rural Canadians and drops to 72 per cent among urbanites. Winnipeg residents feel least safe – two-in-five (41 per cent) say they do not feel comfortable walking alone at night. Overall, this represents a seven-point decline from 2015, when four-in-five (81%) Canadians said they felt safe walking alone after dark in their neighbourhood.

-Confidence in local police detachments is much higher among those over the age of 54 at 62 per cent than those aged 18- to 34-years-old at 39 per cent.

-Trust is even lower in the provincial criminal courts. More than half (55 per cent) of Canadians say they do not trust the criminal courts in their home province.