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PUBLIC
POLICY ISSUES: MOST IMPORTANT PROBLEMS Crime is once again named the most important problem in Orange County more often than any other issue. Crime has topped the list every year since 1993. A quarter of Orange County residents (27%) name crime as the most serious problem, followed by schools (18%), traffic (9%), the El Toro airport controversy (9%), growth (7%), housing (5%) and immigration (5%). Other issues receiving fewer mentions include the economy, the environment, race relations, poverty, drug abuse, health care, values, taxes, and government. Although crime continues to be viewed as the county's most important issue, mentions are down slightly from the number naming crime as the top problem last year (30% to 27%), while mentions of schools increased by 6 points (12% to 18%). The other county issues listed in the table below were statistically unchanged from a year ago. Concerns about crime are greater in the North County than the South (31% to 19%). The El Toro airport plan ties with crime as residents' top concern in the South County, while it is mentioned by fewer than 5% in the North County. These findings were similar last year. Nearly half of Latinos say that crime is the most important issue facing Orange County today, similar to last year. In contrast, non-Hispanic whites are evenly divided between naming crime and schools as the biggest problems facing the county, while they are more likely than Latinos to mention the El Toro airport, traffic, and growth as the most important issues.
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