Asked how concerned they were that they might become a crime victim, 45 per cent of respondents said they were either very or fairly worried. Women were more concerned than men.

Despite this, only 18 per cent believed their quality of life was affected by crime. Similarly, 19 per cent said their life was affected by the fear of crime.

“Almost half worried about being a victim of crime. But if you look at the positive side, almost half are not worried at all,” said Lara Al Barazi, associate research director of YouGov. “When you compare this to other parts of the world that is pretty amazing.”

Mohammed Haddad, a US citizen who works as a physician at Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi, said he never worried about being a victim of crime.

He believed the country was a safe place to live. “I have been in countries where crime is rampant,” said the 39-year-old who has also lived in Lebanon and Jordan.

“This is an absolutely safe country. Being a victim of crime is the last thing on my mind.”

The survey found that almost two-fifths (37 per cent) of respondents believed the level of crime as a whole had increased in the past three years in comparison to almost a fifth (18 per cent) who believed it had decreased.

When asked if they believed crime in the emirate where they lived had increased, stayed the same or decreased, 47 per cent believed it had increased compared with 10 per cent who felt it had decreased.

“What is interesting is Asians, more than the others, feel that crime has increased,” said Ms Al Barazi.

“When you look at Sharjah, for example, the feeling of being safe is not as great as Abu Dhabi or Dubai.”

More than a fifth (21 per cent) believed the level of crime in their local residential area had increased in the past three years.

newsdesk@thenational.ae