# Americans spread blame for local crime across mayors, judges, and sheriffs

Canonical page: https://data.verasight.io/politics/americans-spread-blame-for-local-crime-across-mayors-judges-and-sheriffs/

> Indexed question in Politics.

## Reading

Responsibility for local crime lands on a lot of desks. About half of Americans hold the mayor of their city and criminal court judges responsible for crime problems in their area (52% each), along with their local sheriff (51%) and their local prosecutor or DA (50%), according to an April 2025 Verasight survey.

Blame thins out at the state level: 38% point to their governor and 31% to state legislators. Just 7% say none of these elected officials should bear responsibility.

## Topline

Which, if any, of the following elected officials do you believe should bear responsibility for crime problems in your area?

Americans spread blame for local crime across mayors, judges, and sheriffs.

Respondents could select more than one option, so shares may sum to more than 100%.

- The mayor of your city: 52.0%
- Criminal court judges: 51.7%
- Your local sheriff: 50.7%
- Your local prosecutor/DA: 49.9%
- The governor of your state: 38.1%
- State legislators: 30.6%
- None of the above: 6.8%

## Methodology

- Mode: Verasight panel recruited via random address-based sampling, random person-to-person text messaging, and dynamic online targeting
- Population: US adults age 18+
- Field dates: 2025-04-09 → 2025-04-15
- Base (unweighted): 1,000
- Margin of error: +/- 3.5%
- Module: elections
- Sponsor: Verasight
- Weight variable: weight
- Weighting targets: age, race/ethnicity, sex, income, education, region, metropolitan status

## Source

- Canonical question URL: [https://verasight-mpsa-2025.tiiny.co#elected-officials-responsibility-for-crime](https://verasight-mpsa-2025.tiiny.co#elected-officials-responsibility-for-crime)

## Citation

Verasight MPSA Omnibus Survey #2025-026, fielded April 9-15, 2025, N=1,000 US adults age 18+, +/- 3.5%.

Canonical question URL: [https://verasight-mpsa-2025.tiiny.co#elected-officials-responsibility-for-crime](https://verasight-mpsa-2025.tiiny.co#elected-officials-responsibility-for-crime)