5.3 Crime: Perception and Reality
LO 5.3: Compare the perception of crime with actual incidence.
Crime increased slightly between 2019 and 2022 (Grawert & Kim, 2023) and some categories of crime are increasing (like cyber-enabled crime). However, crime in the United States has declined since the 1990s (see Figure 5.5). Both the Uniform Crime Report (UCR), collected by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) show a decline in crime.
The Uniform Crime Report
The UCR has collected crime statistics since 1930. It tracks statistics on “homicide, forcible rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, larceny-theft, motor vehicle theft, and arson” (U.S. Department of Justice, 2004). The data only includes crimes law enforcement agencies (including cities, universities, counties, etc.) voluntarily report to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
The National Crime Victimization Survey
In contrast, the NCVS counts crimes that people have not reported to law enforcement and crimes that law enforcement has not reported to the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The NCVS conducts interviews with a nationally representative sample of U.S. households. Respondents report whether they have been victims of “nonfatal personal crimes (rape or sexual assault, robbery, aggravated and simple assault, and personal larceny) and household property crimes (burglary/trespassing, motor vehicle theft, and other types of theft), both reported and not reported to the police” (Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2009, p. 2). Using both the NCVS and the UCR provides a more comprehensive picture of the extent of crime.
Figure 5.5
Decline in U.S. Violent and Property Crime Rates (Per 10,000), 1993-2022
Data based on Gramlich, J. (2024, April 24). What the data says about crime in the U.S. Pew Research Center. https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2024/04/24/what-the-data-says-about-crime-in-the-us/. Copyright 2024 by Pew Research Center.
Even though crime has declined and is much lower today than it was during the early 1990s, most U.S. adults believe that crime is worse than it was before (see Figure 5.6). Sixty-four percent of U.S. adults believe that there was more crime in the United States in 2024 compared to the year before (Brenan, 2024b). In other words, U.S. adults consistently believe that crime rates are getting worse even though crime rates are declining. The news media plays a major role in perpetuating this misconception about crime. News organizations promote negative news because it draws more viewers or more clicks (in the case of online media) (Robertson et al., 2023).
Figure 5.6
U.S. Adults Beliefs About Whether There Was More, Less, or the Same Amount of Crime Over the Previous Year, 1990-2024
Data based on Brenan, M. (2024b, October 29). Smaller majorities say crime in U.S. is serious, increasing. Gallup. https://news.gallup.com/poll/652763/smaller-majorities-say-crime-serious-increasing.aspx. Copyright 2024 by Gallup.