Strong in the Face of Adversity:

Support for Tighter Security Measures

Little Change in Air Travel Behavior Since 9-11;

Business and community leaders in Maricopa County overwhelmingly support the tighter security measures implemented in the aftermath of last year's terrorist attacks, according to a recent O'Neil Associates Valley Influentials Poll. The poll also found that air travel behavior among Valley leaders is virtually unchanged since September 11.

When asked in a context of security concerns, a clear majority of Valley leaders are in favor of allowing airport security personnel to search certain groups of passengers, for instance young, Middle-Eastern looking males, more frequently and/or thoroughly than they search other passengers. Fully two-thirds (68%) find such efforts acceptable, while 24% find it unacceptable, and 8% are unsure or have no opinion.

"This is a particularly interesting question since it pits two quintessential American values against each other: the right to receive equal treatment and the right to be secure," said Dr. Michael O'Neil, director of the poll. "In the current context, it is clear that the balance has tipped in favor of security concerns."

"Community and business leaders are likely to include more frequent fliers than the population at large, so it makes sense that these people have a strong interest in secure travel," Dr. O'Neil continued, "But we also cannot overlook the fact that these people are much less likely to be singled out for closer scrutiny at the nation's airports, so they are not risking very much personally by endorsing some form of security profiling." "It is also significant," said Dr. O'Neil, "that this question presented a relatively minor intrusion on passengers' comfort. We cannot infer from our data that community leaders or the public at large would support more radical security measures."

Doing What Needs to Be Done

When asked in more general terms about the government's curbing of Americans' civil liberties since 9-11, a majority of Valley leaders support the efforts undertaken thus far. Fifty-eight percent (58%) agree with a statement that the government has made necessary and justified restrictions on certain people's freedom in the interest of national security-for instance, by implementing closer screening at airports and public events, by making it easier for police and intelligence agencies to conduct phone and mail surveillance, and by making it easier for law enforcement to detain foreign nationals. Equal proportions feel either that the government has not gone far enough (20%), or that Americans' civil liberties have been curbed too much (18%). Four percent (4%) did not have an opinion.

"Considering the sometimes raucous national debate on civil liberties, one might have expected greater misgivings about the restrictions," said Dr. O'Neil. "Again, however, business and community leaders probably do not feel personally threatened or inhibited by the tighter security regimen. Apart from longer airport waits, few community leaders are likely to have had negative personal experiences with reduced civil liberties."

A Partisan Issue

Though support for tighter security measures and certain civil-liberty restrictions is strong overall, both issues are highly divisive in terms of people's ideology and party identification. Among Valley leaders registered as Republicans, fully 86% find more thorough/frequent airport searches of certain groups acceptable, whereas only a modest majority of Democrats (57%) and those with other party registrations (58%) share that sentiment. Similarly, whereas only 8% of Republicans feel the government's restrictions on civil liberties have been excessive, 34% of Democrats and 26% of "others" think the government has gone too far.

The same pattern is found when responses are grouped based on people's ideological self-identification. Conservatives offer much stronger support for airport searches of certain groups, while liberals are far more concerned with the government's general curbing of civil liberties.

Said Dr. O'Neil, "This is a well-known schism in modern politics: to liberals, civil liberties are perhaps more sacred than anything else, while conservatives, who of course also support civil liberties in principle and generally are very skeptical of government regulation, nevertheless are more willing to compromise when they feel security concerns make it necessary."

Air Travel Unchanged

A three-quarters majority (76%) of Valley leaders reported that their frequency of air travel is about the same now as it was before the attacks. Sixteen percent (16%) travel less frequently, and 8% have increased their rate of flying. "It is good news for the aviation industry that business and community leaders, a core traveler group, have not been scared out of the nation's airspace at anywhere near the rate one might have feared, given the magnitude of the disaster that struck the nation," said Dr. O'Neil. "But we must not overlook the fact that these are people whose jobs often require extensive travel. The airlines may still suffer if appreciable numbers of more marginal travelers have abandoned air travel." Unlike attitudes towards security checks and civil liberties, incidentally, people's reported travel behavior does not appear to be influenced by party and ideology.

About the Poll. The O’Neil Associates Valley Influentials Poll is a web-based survey that was sent to all members of Greater Phoenix Leadership, Valley Leadership, East Valley Partnership, and Westmarc. As such, this survey does not purport to be a random or representative sampling of the general population of the Phoenix metropolitan area. It would be difficult, however, to conceive of a more comprehensive representation from which to draw inferences about the opinions and sensibilities of business and community leaders than the combined membership of these organizations, although, inevitably, any definition of influentials is somewhat subjective. The persons surveyed are likely to exert disproportionate influence on and be an early indicator of community opinion by virtue of their position, community involvement, and political participation. The O’Neil Associates Valley Influentials Poll was not sponsored or paid for by any outside organization. Four hundred eight participants completed the survey between June 13 and June 24, 2002, yielding a margin of error of ±4.5%. O’Neil Associates, Inc. is a Tempe-based public opinion research firm specializing in client-focused attitude and awareness studies for a wide variety of industries and organizations.

FOR RELEASE MONDAY, JULY 22, 2002 (VIP007-2002-01)

FURTHER INFORMATION: Michael O'Neil, Ph.D., or Niels Marslev, 480-967-4441

These results may be reported freely provided that they are identified as the “O’Neil Associates Valley Influentials Poll” including identification on any graphic material.

O’Neil Associates has tracked public opinion across the Valley, Arizona, and the Nation since 1981. To be healthy, public debate must be informed—this is why we commit our resources to measuring opinions on the political and social issues people care about and talk about. O’Neil Associates, however, is much more than that. While the Valley Influentials Poll and Valley Monitor may be our most publicly visible activities, we do most of our work for private businesses and organizations as well as state and other public agencies. As a full-service research firm, we assist our clients with a broad range of research efforts to measure customer satisfaction, improve customer service, fine-tune public images, focus marketing campaigns, engineer products, increase market shares, strengthen employee relations, and plan, refine, and assess business strategies.

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