PULSE OF TORONTO - PART 4

- PULSE OF TORONTO - PART 4
- Half (48%) Say Toronto Not as Safe as it Was Five Years Ago - - 54% Support 2 Choppers to Patrol City Streets - - Even if it Means Tax Hikes or Other Reduced Services - - Six in Ten (61%) Say Toronto is as Safe as Anywhere Else in Canada - - Six in Ten (58%) Say T.O. Police Exercise Good Judgement When it Comes to Police Chases -

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This Angus Reid/CFRB/Globe and Mail poll was conducted by telephone on October 25th and 26th, 1999 among a representative cross-section of 400 residents of the new city of Toronto. These data were statistically weighted to ensure the sample's regional and age/sex composition reflects that of the actual Toronto population according to the 1996 Census data. With a sample of 400, one can say with 95 percent certainty that the overall results are within +4.9 percentage points of what they would have been had the entire adult Toronto population been polled. The margin of error will be larger within regions and for other sub-groupings of the survey population.

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- PULSE OF TORONTO -

This Angus Reid Group/CFRB/Globe and Mail Pulse of Toronto Poll finds that Toronto residents are divided on whether or not the city is as safe as it was five years ago (51% agree it is, 48% disagree). However, a majority (61%) say it is as safe to live in Toronto as it is to live anywhere else in Canada. On the police beat, more than half (54%) feel we should have 2 helicopters to help patrol the city's streets - even if it means increased taxes or takes funding from other services, and six in ten (58%) say Toronto's men in blue exercise good judgement when it comes to police chases. And finally, fully nine in ten (90%) Toronto residents feel safe in their own homes. These are the primary findings of a poll undertaken by the Angus Reid Group on behalf of CFRB and the Globe and Mail. The poll was conducted on October 25th and 26th, 1999 among a randomly selected sample of 400 residents of the new city of Toronto and has an associated margin of error of +4.9 percentage points 19 times out of 20. 48% Say Toronto is Not as Safe as it Was Five Years Ago With 51% in agreement and 48% saying they disagree, Torontonians are split as to whether or not Toronto is as safe today as it was five years ago. Most likely to say T.O. is just as safe are those without a high school diploma (65%), university graduates (57%) and those with an annual household income of at least $60K (57%). On the other hand, high school graduates (66%), respondents with some post secondary education (57%) and the least affluent (57%) feel the city is not as safe as it used to be. Six in Ten (61%) Say Toronto is as Safe as Anywhere Else in Canada
Six in ten (61%) agree that it is as safe to live in Toronto as it is to live anywhere else in Canada. This sentiment is strongest among respondents aged 55 and older (75%). At 55%, the least affluent (annual household income of less than $30K) respondent group is less likely to share this point of view than either of the more affluent respondent groups (63% $30-60K, 62% $60K+). Men (63%) and women (59%) do not vary significantly in their responses. Slim Majority (54%) Say Toronto Should Have 2 Helicopters to Patrol City Streets By a narrow margin, a majority (54%) agree "we should have 2 helicopters for the police to use to patrol Toronto's streets, even if it means increased taxes or takes away from other services". Just over four in ten (43%) disagree. Support for helicopters is highest among those aged 55 and older (68%) and high school graduates (62%). Most likely to oppose the idea are those aged 18 to 34 (51%). Men (60%) are more in favour of getting helicopters to patrol the city streets than women (50%). Six in Ten (58%) Say Toronto Police Exercise Good Judgement When it Comes to Police Chases A majority (58%) feel that Toronto police exercise good judgement when it comes to police chases. Four in ten (38%) disagree. Most likely to say the city's men in blue show good judgement are men (66%, versus 51% of women), high school graduates (71%), and those with an annual household income of more than $60K (69%). At 46%, respondents whose annual household income is between $30K and $60K stand out as the group most likely to disagree that the police exercise good judgement in police chases. Nine in Ten (90%) Feel Safe in Their Own Home A large majority (90%) of Toronto residents report that, generally speaking, they feel safe in their own home. This sense of security is as strong among women (90%) as it is among men (91%). Respondents with a university degree (95%) feel safer than high school graduates (82%), and the level of security increases with affluence - from 85% among those with an annual household income of less than $30K to 94% among those whose annual household income is greater than $60K. Responses do not vary significantly by age. For further information on this news release, please contact: John Wright
Senior Vice-President
Angus Reid Group
(416) 324-2900
John Wright
The Angus Reid Group is Canada's largest and most well known Canadian research company. Established in 1979 by Dr. Angus Reid, the company serves 1200 clients via its six offices in Canada, four offices in the United States and its European office in London, England. With a compliment of 250 full time qualitative and quantitative researchers, the company has annual revenues of $65 Million and is growing at an average rate of 30 percent per year. The employee owned company also operates its own field service entity, Direct Reid, utilizing 450 CATI telephone interviewing stations for north American calling and a 50,000 household consumer panel in Canada