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EldritchMelissa Cronin
12/27/15 11:50am
Crime is down all over the country but the way it’s breathlessly reported by news stations, many people believe it’s the highest it’s ever been. It’s a fascinating (and depressing) type of cognitive dissonance.

I actually read something about this in the Washington Post this morning.

Based on annual law enforcement fatality data from the Officer Down Memorial Page back to 1870 and through today for 2015, and adjusting for the US population using data from Global Financial Data, this year (2015) is on track to be the second-safest year for US police officers in history (0.1112 gun-related police deaths per 1 million population), second only to a slightly safer year in 2013 (0.097 deaths per 1 million).
“Crime in the U.S. is at an all-time low across the country, and we expect it to stay that way,” said Ronal Serpas, Chairman of Law Enforcement Leaders to Reduce Crime and Incarceration and the former New Orleans Police Superintendent. “Despite some misleading reports about a surge in crime rates, the data show just the opposite. In fact, as recent studies show, the overall crime rate will be lower this year than it was last year, and half of what it was in 1990. Some cities have seen a rise in murder, but these are isolated incidents—not a new crime wave—which local leaders are taking steps to address.
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  benjaminalloverEldritch
  12/27/15 11:58am
  I think the ubiquity of media is one aspect of that dissonance, but also the sensational nature of the types of crimes which are not dropping as quickly as the aggregate- mass shootings/terrorism and police shootings come to mind.
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  MWarnerMEldritch
  12/27/15 1:04pm
  When I tell people that crime in the US is literally half what it was in the early 90s, they refuse to believe me.
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HypnoCatMelissa Cronin
12/27/15 11:15am
You mean that city with some of the tougher gun control regulations in the country? That city?
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  Icecold DavisHypnoCat
  12/27/15 11:19am
  You mean that newspaper that peddles pearl clutching? That paper?
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  lJN9yQQDBepFiHypnoCat
  12/27/15 12:20pm
  Gun crime has PLUNGED 49% in the last 20 years nationwide.
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KaidogMelissa Cronin
12/27/15 11:39am
Isn't that the paper owned by a guy who fucks pigs?
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  HahayoustupidludditeshutupandgohandcrankyourmodeltalreadyKaidog
  12/27/15 11:47am
  I didn’t realize that David Cameron owned a newspaper.
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  Reg TidswellKaidog
  12/27/15 12:08pm
  I heard it was sheep, but you may be right.
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inthrall88Melissa Cronin
12/27/15 11:59am
My father is a regular Post reader, but it’s been years since I’ve seen a copy since I don’t live in the area anymore. Yesterday I was at his house and I picked up a copy and leafed through it and I was literally shocked at how slimy, misleading, and loaded with misaimed or aimless invective it was. I read one paragraph aloud - something about Chirlane McCray, who I gather is a current favorite target - and I just looked at my dad. He sort of shrugged and said “yeah, well” and changed the subject.

My dad is a smart guy and I hope/think he realizes that the Post is not a great lens through which a 65 year old man should view the world.

Sorry if this is received wisdom for everyone else. It had just been a long time since I had encountered the Post in the wild.
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benjaminalloverMelissa Cronin
12/27/15 11:26am
Low and behold, the protests did not undermine the effectiveness of the police, and their little work-to-rule pout had either the opposite effect they predicted, or no effect at all. Just shocking.
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  GuyFromIpanemabenjaminallover
  12/27/15 5:45pm
  I agree. But on a side note, the correct spelling is “lo and behold.” Sorry to be a stickler for spelling but thought you should know. Cheers.
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  benjaminalloverGuyFromIpanema
  12/27/15 8:57pm
  True, true. Mea Culpa. I didn’t see my brainfart until too late to edit.
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BurneskoCantTakeCriticismMelissa Cronin
12/27/15 11:16am
time-honored tradition of spewing fear-mongering headlines

Thankfully no one at Gawker would ever do such a thing
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  KaidogBurneskoCantTakeCriticism
  12/27/15 11:42am
  You forgot your arbitrary apostrophe.
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Sid and FinancyMelissa Cronin
12/27/15 11:40am
I’ve been spending a lot of time on the west coast. You’re welcome, New York.
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BCDFGMelissa Cronin
12/27/15 1:08pm
What I really don’t get: the blind use of murder statistics as a gauge of safety, the economy, etc. Property crime? Yeah, you can draw conclusions about that. Armed robberies, you can draw conclusions about that.

But murder/homicide? Unless there’s some sort of breakdown by motive, relationship of perp to victim, associated crimes, etc. that’s really a black box. Murder stats simply say, you had people who wanted to kill someone else and did so.

In New York, you have millions of people living in a dense area, and only a few hundred of them wished ill upon someone. Compared to how Florida Man responds to loud music or Star Wars spoilers, New York is a goddamn miraculous wonderland that’s mostly full of people content to grumble even as they’re about to be evicted.
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Max CherryMelissa Cronin
12/27/15 1:37pm
Cue anecdotal youtubes from the past 7 years of black teenagers beating up old white guys, with ensuing comments like, “So, is Gawker suggesting this didn’t happen?”
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