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Almost half of British Columbians fear becoming a victim of crime in their community, while 70 per cent support increasing the use of closed circuit television.

A recent Research Co. poll found that 48 per cent of B.C. residents feared becoming victims of crime in their community "a great deal" or "a fair amount."

And while fear of crime was prevalent, less than one in five (18 per cent) had been a victim of a crime that involved the police.

Fear of crime was the highest in Northern B.C. with 52 per cent worried about it, while residents on Vancouver Island felt the safest with 40 per cent worried about crime. In southern B.C. that number was 48 per cent.

While fear of crime was clearly front of mind for many, almost half of all residents favoured "defunding the police" and diverting funds from police departments to non-policing forms of public safety and community support.

Thirty-eight per cent of residents disagreed with the idea while 14 per cent weren't sure.

The Research Co. poll also found that 51 per cent of B.C. residents believe that the level of criminal activity in their community has increased in the past four years, with that number jumping to 62 per cent in Southern B.C.

While British Columbians are clearly worried about crime the idea to replace the RCMP with a provincial police force isn't very popular.

READ MORE: Penticton vigilante group patrols streets to fight property crime

Earlier this year, a Special Committee on Reforming the Police Act issued a report that recommended creating a B.C. wide police force to replace the RCMP.

However, only 39 per cent of B.C. residents favour the idea, with 38 per cent against it, and 23 per cent undecided.

When it comes to guns, 82 per cent support the ban on military-style assault weapons, and 75 per cent support banning handguns.

The survey found that just over half of residents believed addiction and mental health were to blame for a great deal of crime in their community.

Nearly one-third of people blamed poverty and inequality, 27 per cent blamed the economy and unemployment and 24 per cent blamed insufficient policing. A further eight per cent put the blame for crime on immigrants and minorities.

READ MORE: Residents of Kamloops, Kelowna wealthier than most Canadians: census

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