When Fear Overpowers Reality

Serious crime has declined for the seventh straight year nationally, and the news locally is even better. Simi Valley, home to many police families, is one of the nation’s safest cities. Murders in Los Angeles fell to a 28-year low last year, and serious crime here was down by more than 10%, according to the yearly FBI crime reports. So why are so many Americans, here and elsewhere, convinced that crime is on the rise? In two words: media inundation.

This week, between 7 p.m. and midnight, Angelenos could view 59 network or cable television shows in which serious crime, sometimes including murder, is an element. These shows include real-crime re-creations, prime-time newsmagazines, police dramas and murder mysteries. Even forensic pathologists have a show airing these days. And yes, we count among these shows a few in which the murderers are vampires, ghosts, demons, extraterrestrials and the occasional ancient pagan sociopath.

There will be 50 cable and network television movies this week, all with start times between 7 p.m. and 11 p.m., that feature serious crimes. Nightly news broadcasts almost always include a crime story. Add to that an endless succession of televised police freeway chases.

Once a year, everyone is told that crime is way, way down and is told why. The other 364 nights Americans go to bed dreaming of crooks at the door in much the manner that children fear the bogyman under the bed. Reality is far better than that, and Americans can stand to hear, see and read a lot more about the improvement. What’s sensational is the fact that crime is down.