Crime | The Extent of Crime Has Been Exaggerated by the Media

We reporters should be at least embarrassed, if not ashamed, of the way that we have breathlessly hyped almost every threat that comes across our desks. Okay, maybe some have not, but most of us have, much of the time. I’ll start with crime. Polls show that many Americans fear crime more than anything else—and why should they not? Gruesome stories lead local news shows night after night. I watch, with grim fascination, grateful that the horror did not happen to me. Any individual story I can slough off as a bizarre aberration; but the repetition takes a toll. Whenever I return to New...

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