Data and Methodology
Alliance for Safety and Justice commissioned the America’s Safety Gaps Survey to understand the level of access to safety for crime victims, people with mental health and substance abuse challenges, and people with past convictions. The survey also fills in the gaps on what likely voters’ policy preferences are regarding public safety and how those intersect with the needs of the affected populations surveyed.
David Binder Research and GS Strategy Group conducted the survey in English and Spanish during June of 2020. The poll was administered through an online panel, a sample of persons who have agreed to complete surveys through the Internet. Using demographic benchmarks from Census data, sample quotas and weights were used to create a survey sample that is representative of the U.S. adult population. Results reported for affected populations are based on respondents’ self-reported experiences in this survey. Likely voters are also identified based on survey responses, and voter questions were asked among a representative subsample of the likely voters identified.
The overall margin of error among the 4,000 adults interviewed for the America’s Safety Gaps Survey is 1.6 percent. The margin of error among the 1,527 with mental health issues is 2.5 percent, among the 752 crime victims it is 3.6 percent, among the 747 likely voters it is 3.6 percent, among the 597 with substance abuse issues it is 4.0 percent, and among the 511 convicted of crimes it is 4.3 percent. The margin of error is larger for demographic subgroups.
