More than 55 per cent of respondents feel the country is headed “off on the wrong track,” citing economic conditions, the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and the increase in crime, according to a recent survey commissioned by NewsNation, an American subscription television network.

Some 34 per cent of respondents in the poll said the country is on the “right track,” according to the survey’s results. The survey was held on December 9.

As many as 48 per cent of the 1,166 respondents in the poll said they feel less safe when shopping as a result of smash-and-grab thefts, which have plagued Southern California and dominated news headlines in recent months.

Current laws and sentencing guidelines in the United States are too soft, according to 63 per cent of those surveyed, and 86 per cent of them believe crime is a problem nationally, the poll said.