At the county level, with the exception of Columbia and Ulster Counties, making their community safer is among residents’ top ten priorities in each county. It receives the highest average score, 7.7, from residents in Dutchess and Orange Counties.
Five years ago, among the six counties surveyed, residents of Orange County were most concerned about crime. As a priority, making communities safer ranked fifth among these residents. This issue now ranks seventh among Orange County residents.
Dutchess County residents are more concerned about safety in their community than they were five years ago. In 2002, the issue received an average score from residents of 7.3. Today, safety receives an average rating of 7.7 among residents in the county. The increase of four-tenths of a point since 2002 reflects the greatest shift in average score on this issue among the six counties studied five years ago.
