Americans Reject Extreme Anti-Privacy Security Measures

GALLUP NEWS SERVICE

PRINCETON, NJ -- The recent London suicide bombings seem to have elevated Americans' own anxiety about terrorism, although not to as great an extent as did the 9/11 terrorist attacks against the United States. Since the London bombings, there has been a sustained increase in Americans' expectations that a terrorist attack is likely to happen in the United States in the next few weeks. There has been a less pronounced increase in Americans' personal fear that they or a family member will be a terrorism victim.

Still, Gallup finds that Americans are not so fearful that they are willing to surrender their personal privacy. In the name of domestic security, most Americans are willing to endure metal detectors and security checks at buildings, and are in favor of a national ID card. They also think it's OK for the police to profile Arab Americans at airports. But most reject more extreme measures, such as allowing the police to search people and homes at random or without a warrant, expanding government surveillance of e-mail and telephone calls, and suspending the right to a speedy trial of terrorist suspects who are U.S. citizens.

More Americans Expect a Terrorist Event Than Fear It

In Gallup polling conducted right after the July 7 backpack bombings that killed 52 passengers on London's transit system, there was a sharp increase in the percentage of Americans saying that an act of terrorism was likely to happen in the United States within the next several weeks. This figure was only 35% in June, but shot up to 55% in a CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll conducted July 7-10, and it remains at about the same level today.

According to a July 22-24 CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll, only 12% of Americans think another terrorist incident is "very likely" to happen in the coming weeks, but a combined 57% say it is "very" or "somewhat" likely.

By comparison, Gallup finds a smaller increase between June and today in the percentage of Americans who are personally worried that they or a family member will be a victim of terrorism. Forty-seven percent of Americans now say they are worried this will happen, up from 38% in June.

Terrorism fears today are somewhat lower than they were in the first few weeks after Sept. 11, 2001, when terrorist hijackers brought down the World Trade Center towers, crashed into the Pentagon, and would have directed a fourth airplane at a target in Washington, D.C., if not for the plane's heroic passengers.

Ten days after those attacks, Gallup found a similar level of fear to today's about being a victim of terrorism (47% today vs. 49% in September 2001), but a much higher expectation that further acts of terrorism were imminent (57% today vs. 66% then).

Privacy Concerns Trump Security

Finding the right balance between liberty and security has been an ongoing challenge for policymakers since 9/11. Controversy over the Patriot Act is a case in point, and now a similar battle is being waged in the United Kingdom, where Prime Minister Tony Blair has just proposed tight new restrictions on Muslims.

As much as Americans want to be safe from terrorism, they are reluctant to expand government surveillance of private communication or suspend basic privacy rights such as freedom from unreasonable searches.

A supermajority (two-thirds or more) of Americans do support making metal detectors and identity verification a routine part of entering buildings and other public places; a similar number support the establishment of a national ID card. More than half also are in favor of subjecting all Arabs, including Arab Americans, to special security checks at airports.

Next, please tell me if you would favor or oppose each of the following as a means of preventing terrorist attacks in the United States. How about -- [random order]?

Americans are closely split on whether police should be able to do random checks of pedestrians or whether Arabs in the United States should be required to carry a special ID.

A majority of Americans oppose giving the government the authority to search through people's library loan records.

A supermajority of the public opposes random police checks of people's possessions; increased government surveillance of Americans through their mail, e-mail, and telephones; suspension of certain legal rights for terrorism suspects; and allowing police to enter people's homes without a search warrant.

A subset of these items was first tested in September 2001, shortly after the 9/11 attacks, and the results were not much different then. Americans were only slightly more likely at that time than they are now to favor some of these proposals.

Republicans More Security Minded

Public reaction to these proposals is quite similar across different demographic groups. The largest differences tend to be according to politics, with Republicans being the most likely to favor certain proposals.

This is especially evident with respect to some of the least popular strategies, such as making it easier for legal authorities to conduct surveillance on private communication, and allowing the police to stop people on the street at random to search their possessions. Still, the majority of Republicans oppose these measures.

Survey Methods

These results are based on telephone interviews with a randomly selected national sample of 1,006 adults, aged 18 and older, conducted July 22-24, 2005. For results based on this sample, one can say with 95% confidence that the maximum error attributable to sampling and other random effects is ±3 percentage points. In addition to sampling error, question wording and practical difficulties in conducting surveys can introduce error or bias into the findings of public opinion polls.

12. How worried are you that you or someone in your family will become a victim of terrorism -- very worried, somewhat worried, not too worried, or not worried at all?

13. How likely is it that there will be further acts of terrorism in the United States over the next several weeks -- very likely, somewhat likely, not too likely, or not at all likely?

Q.14-15 ROTATED

14. Do you think the federal government is -- [ROTATED: doing too much, doing the right amount, or not doing enough] -- to prevent acts of terrorism on mass transit systems, such as subways, buses, and trains?

15. Do you think the federal government is -- [ROTATED: doing too much, doing the right amount, or not doing enough] -- to prevent acts of terrorism on airplanes?

Q.16-17 SPLIT SAMPLED

16. Next, please tell me if you would favor or oppose each of the following as a means of preventing terrorist attacks in the United States. How about -- [random order]?

BASED ON 497 NATIONAL ADULTS IN FORM A

Full Trends: Support for Measures to Combat Terrorism

A. Requiring Arabs, including those who are U.S. citizens, to carry a special ID

B. Requiring Arabs, including those who are U.S. citizens, to undergo special, more intensive security checks before boarding airplanes in the U.S.

C. Requiring every person going into an office building or public place to show ID

D. Requiring every person going into an office building or public place to go through a metal detector

E. Allowing police to stop people on the street at random to search their possessions

F. Making it easier for legal authorities to read mail, e-mail, or tap phones without the person's knowledge

17. Next, please tell me if you would favor or oppose each of the following as a means of preventing terrorist attacks in the United States. How about -- [random order]?

BASED ON 509 NATIONAL ADULTS IN FORM B