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> Why it matters: The findings appear to be at odds with Americans' perception of crime both in their communities and in the rest of the country. Well, there a

> Why it matters: The findings appear to be at odds with Americans' perception of crime both in their communities and in the rest of the country. Well, there are other crimes than murder?

drewcoo 3y ago
News at 11 . . . Americans believe the news.
- BirAdam 3y ago
  And oddly, no matter the political bent of viewer or of caster, people seriously shouldn’t believe the press (corporate or otherwise). The corporate press is just a few politically and financially well connected megacorps who have both their own corporate agenda as well as their connections’ agendas. The amateur press is precisely that and therefore shouldn’t be blindly trusted either. Do you trust Comcast to speak honestly about ISPs?
  - D13Fd 3y ago
    > people seriously shouldn’t believe the press This is ridiculous. Most of the things the mainstream media report on are true. Do you believe there are wars right now in Ukraine and Israel? Do you believe that the UK exited the EU? Do you believe that SpaceX lost a rocket last week when it tipped over on a boat? There is certainly a bias towards outrage and inciting strong feelings to get eyeballs and attention. Certain networks have leaned into a political bias as well. But the media is still, by far, the best and most trustworthy source for the basic facts of what is going on in the world.
ceejayoz 3y ago
The other crimes have been declining dramatically for decades, too. American perception of crime doesn't match the reality; it's a 24/7 cable news phenomenon. https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2020/11/20/facts-about-crime-in-the-u-s/ https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2020/11/20/facts-abo...
- mminer237 3y ago
  Crimes had been declining for decades. The last couple years have had pretty significant increases, and violent crime in general is the highest it's been in ten years, for instance: https://ncvs.bjs.ojp.gov/quick-graphics https://ncvs.bjs.ojp.gov/quick-graphics
  - ceejayoz 3y ago
    “Highest in ten years” is still very low on the 70s/80s/90s scale, as the chart in the article readily shows.
    - what 3y ago
      So no one is allowed to notice that crime is getting worse until it reaches the same levels as the 70s/80s/90s? Despite rising crime, their perception is wrong because it hasn’t reached historic highs?
      - ceejayoz 3y ago
        > So no one is allowed to notice that crime is getting worse... Despite rising crime... Re-read the headline. > Despite rising crime, their perception is wrong because it hasn’t reached historic highs? Yes, American perception of how dangerous society is is quite skewed, and has been for some time. https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2020/11/20/facts-about-crime-in-the-u-s/ https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2020/11/20/facts-abo... We seem the same odd vibes-over-numbers phenomenon in the economy in recent years: https://twitter.com/M_C_Klein/status/1730718997170344427 https://twitter.com/M_C_Klein/status/1730718997170344427
- wang_li 3y ago
  Finding data points from decades ago that is higher then the current data point doesn't invalidate that the recent trend is upwards.
  - ceejayoz 3y ago
Swizec 3y ago
Speaking as someone who has lived in the downtown area of a dense US city for the past 8 years, US crime stats and perception are weird. Yes I live in a neighborhood with high crime stats. Even relatively high violent crime stats. But it feels pretty safe regardless. Random violent crime is extremely rare. Mostly what you get are violent disputes between people who know each other. You can literally walk by a drug deal happening and be fully uninvolved. The people won’t even look at you or notice you’re there. It’s like the two parts of society live past each other. Never leave stuff in your car tho. It will get broken into.
- etchalon 3y ago
  It's incredibly hard to explain this disconnect to people who haven't lived in high-poverty/high-crime/dense places. Chicago, even the south side, never felt dangerous to me while living there. But here in Texas, people seem to think it's some wild west of violence every day.
  - FireBeyond 3y ago
    Just as there are people who think that Portland (and Seattle) are close to some post apocalyptic wasteland after the BLM protests a few years ago. I've heard non-hyperbolic claims that BLM torched "entire city blocks".
    - gotoeleven 3y ago
      Just like the protests were mostly peaceful, the city blocks were left mostly untorched.
      - FireBeyond 3y ago
        Show one, just one, block in either city that was torched. A single block that was destroyed by arson. "mostly untorched" is utterly deceptive and misleading rhetoric to push a point.
    - etchalon 3y ago

> Why it matters: The findings appear to be at odds with Americans' perception of crime both in their communities and in the rest of the country. Well, there are other crimes than murder?

drewcoo 3y ago

News at 11 . . . Americans believe the news.

BirAdam 3y ago
And oddly, no matter the political bent of viewer or of caster, people seriously shouldn’t believe the press (corporate or otherwise). The corporate press is just a few politically and financially well connected megacorps who have both their own corporate agenda as well as their connections’ agendas. The amateur press is precisely that and therefore shouldn’t be blindly trusted either. Do you trust Comcast to speak honestly about ISPs?
- D13Fd 3y ago
  > people seriously shouldn’t believe the press This is ridiculous. Most of the things the mainstream media report on are true. Do you believe there are wars right now in Ukraine and Israel? Do you believe that the UK exited the EU? Do you believe that SpaceX lost a rocket last week when it tipped over on a boat? There is certainly a bias towards outrage and inciting strong feelings to get eyeballs and attention. Certain networks have leaned into a political bias as well. But the media is still, by far, the best and most trustworthy source for the basic facts of what is going on in the world.

ceejayoz 3y ago

The other crimes have been declining dramatically for decades, too. American perception of crime doesn't match the reality; it's a 24/7 cable news phenomenon. https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2020/11/20/facts-about-crime-in-the-u-s/ https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2020/11/20/facts-abo...

mminer237 3y ago
Crimes had been declining for decades. The last couple years have had pretty significant increases, and violent crime in general is the highest it's been in ten years, for instance: https://ncvs.bjs.ojp.gov/quick-graphics https://ncvs.bjs.ojp.gov/quick-graphics
- ceejayoz 3y ago
  “Highest in ten years” is still very low on the 70s/80s/90s scale, as the chart in the article readily shows.
  - what 3y ago
    So no one is allowed to notice that crime is getting worse until it reaches the same levels as the 70s/80s/90s? Despite rising crime, their perception is wrong because it hasn’t reached historic highs?
    - ceejayoz 3y ago
      > So no one is allowed to notice that crime is getting worse... Despite rising crime... Re-read the headline. > Despite rising crime, their perception is wrong because it hasn’t reached historic highs? Yes, American perception of how dangerous society is is quite skewed, and has been for some time. https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2020/11/20/facts-about-crime-in-the-u-s/ https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2020/11/20/facts-abo... We seem the same odd vibes-over-numbers phenomenon in the economy in recent years: https://twitter.com/M_C_Klein/status/1730718997170344427 https://twitter.com/M_C_Klein/status/1730718997170344427
wang_li 3y ago
Finding data points from decades ago that is higher then the current data point doesn't invalidate that the recent trend is upwards.
- ceejayoz 3y ago

Swizec 3y ago

Speaking as someone who has lived in the downtown area of a dense US city for the past 8 years, US crime stats and perception are weird. Yes I live in a neighborhood with high crime stats. Even relatively high violent crime stats. But it feels pretty safe regardless. Random violent crime is extremely rare. Mostly what you get are violent disputes between people who know each other. You can literally walk by a drug deal happening and be fully uninvolved. The people won’t even look at you or notice you’re there. It’s like the two parts of society live past each other. Never leave stuff in your car tho. It will get broken into.

etchalon 3y ago
It's incredibly hard to explain this disconnect to people who haven't lived in high-poverty/high-crime/dense places. Chicago, even the south side, never felt dangerous to me while living there. But here in Texas, people seem to think it's some wild west of violence every day.
- FireBeyond 3y ago
  Just as there are people who think that Portland (and Seattle) are close to some post apocalyptic wasteland after the BLM protests a few years ago. I've heard non-hyperbolic claims that BLM torched "entire city blocks".
  - gotoeleven 3y ago
    Just like the protests were mostly peaceful, the city blocks were left mostly untorched.
    - FireBeyond 3y ago
      Show one, just one, block in either city that was torched. A single block that was destroyed by arson. "mostly untorched" is utterly deceptive and misleading rhetoric to push a point.
  - etchalon 3y ago