A new Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research survey finds that 81% of Americans view crime as a “major problem” in large cities, underscoring widespread concern even as national crime statistics trend lower. Handling crime emerges as President Donald Trump’s strongest issue in the poll: 53% of respondents approve of his approach, compared with lower marks for his handling of the economy, immigration and the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Trump’s overall job approval edgeed up to 45%, five percentage points higher than AP-NORC’s July reading. The public is far less enthusiastic about expanded federal authority over local policing. While 55% of adults say it is unacceptable for Washington to take control of big-city police departments, a slim majority supports using the U.S. military or National Guard to assist local forces. The findings come two weeks after Trump federalized the Metropolitan Police Department and deployed Guard troops across the District of Columbia, a move he says could be replicated in other cities. The nationwide poll was conducted Aug. 21-25 among 1,182 adults on NORC’s probability-based AmeriSpeak panel and carries a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3.8 percentage points.