Survey: Nearly half of Tallahassee residents fear losing loved one to gun violence

Amid a year of almost record violence, the Tallahassee-Leon County Council on the Status of Men and Boys surveyed the community to gauge residents' perception of safety, main causes of violence and potential solutions.

Now, the results are in — nearly half of local residents are concerned they'll lose a loved one to gun violence.

The local organization conducted a 19-question, online survey in May 2023 — right before last year's peak time of violence — that was sent out to Tallahassee and Leon County residents 18 years or older. The survey received 668 legitimate responses.

The City Commission requested an update from the organization and will be discussing the survey's results at Wednesday's meeting.

How safe do you feel where you live?

The first section of the survey aimed to gain an understanding of the community's sense of safety. Respondents were asked how safe they felt during the day and during the night where they live. The survey found that 92% said they feel safe during the day and 73% said they feel safe at night.

More than half said the area in which they live has maintained the same level of safety in the past year, but 45% — almost half — of respondents indicated some level of concern that they would lose a loved one to gun violence.

Here are other situations that residents were asked to rank their level of concern experiencing:

• Being arrested
• A close friend or family member being arrested
• Going to jail or prison
• A close friend of family member going to jail or prison
• Getting shot

Residents were also asked to list measures they have taken to increase their sense of safety. Popular responses included:

• Avoided certain areas during the night: 57% of responses
• Added additional lights or locks to homes: 37%
• Installed video doorbell or other camera: 33%
• Carried a gun: 24%

What do you think are the top three contributors to gun violence and crime?

The second section of the survey asked respondents to select their top three choices for what they perceived as contributing factors to the ongoing gun violence issue the community faces. These were the choices:

• Gang activity
• Drug activity
• Vandalism and property crime
• Unemployment
• Housing insecurity
• Mental health and behavioral issues
• Anger and retaliation between individuals
• Arguments and fights between individuals
• Impairment caused by drugs or alcohol
• Money and/or debt
• Labor and/or sex trafficking (human trafficking)
• Other (please specify)
• None of the above

Out of these 13 options, 58% of respondents selected drug activity, 51% selected gang activity and 50% selected mental health and behavioral issues as the main contributing factors related to gun violence and homicides.

What do you feel would be most effective in reducing gun violence in Leon County?

The final section of the online survey provided residents with an open-ended question asking for their suggestions of how to make a dent in the pervasive crime in Tallahassee and Leon County.

Out of 420 responses, these were the top five most popular response categories:

• Gun control: 28% of responses
• Programs, education, interventions and/or support: 16% of responses
• Poverty, food insecurity and affordable housing: 15% of responses
• Increase law enforcement: 14% of responses
• Increased consequences: 12% of responses

According to the survey summary, respondents wrote things such as:

• “ADVOCATE FOR BETTER GUN LAWS."
• “Make guns less available!”
• “Our youth need early opportunities to develop skills that offer purpose, a positive identity, and a career path.”
• “Safe, decent & affordable housing, healthy food options, accessible health care, a living wage, affordable & accessible culturally competent behavioral health services.”
• “Hiring more cops so they can proactively police instead of being reactive.”
• “Actually punish those who commit gun crimes. Make the penalty harsh enough to where people do not want to commit gun violence.”

Breaking & trending news reporter Elena Barrera can be reached at ebarrera@tallahassee.com . Follow her on X: @elenabarreraaa .

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Survey: Nearly half of Tallahassee residents fear losing loved one to gun violence