Almost 80 percent of Americans, and 92 percent of Republicans, think crime has gone up. It actually fell in 2023. An expert blames a familiar culprit for the mistaken impression.
The crime rate going up or down is heavily dependent on how you shape the numbers. Crime might go up in Chicago one month while it goes down in LA. Homicides may decrease but identity thefts may grow. Crime in the 2020s might be on average higher than it was in the 2010s, but the COVID years are an outlier in the grand picture. New York could have no crimes tomorrow and their crime rate would be zero if you measure only over the span of a day.
People search for data to prove they are right rather than search for what their opinion should be.
The US is, and has been for decades, increasingly safer.
The crime rate going up or down is heavily dependent on how you shape the numbers. Crime might go up in Chicago one month while it goes down in LA. Homicides may decrease but identity thefts may grow. Crime in the 2020s might be on average higher than it was in the 2010s, but the COVID years are an outlier in the grand picture. New York could have no crimes tomorrow and their crime rate would be zero if you measure only over the span of a day.
People search for data to prove they are right rather than search for what their opinion should be.
The US is, and has been for decades, increasingly safer.