7 in 10 Americans say crime is rising in U.S.: Gallup

Seven in 10 Americans say there is more crime in the United States now than there was 12 months ago, a recent Gallup poll said.

The percentage of Americans who now hold the perception of rising crime rose by seven points compared to 63 percent who said so in 2014, said the poll, which was released earlier this week.

Only 18 percent say there is less crime and another 8 percent say the level of crime has stayed the same, according to Gallup.

Meanwhile, almost six in 10 Americans in 2015 say that U.S. crime is an "extremely" or "very" serious problem, the second highest level in similar surveys conducted from 2000 to 2015, said Gallup, adding that another 35 percent of Americans say the problem is "moderately" serious.

It was not the first time Gallup found that the U.S. public perception of crime rate got worsened compared with the previous year. However, Gallup said American's perception of crime are not always on par with reality.

According to Gallup, though government data over the past two decades had pointed to declining violent crime rates, majorities of Americans surveyed by Gallup still believed that crime had increased nationwide.

Government data on actual crime rates in 2015 will not be released until next year. Enditem