Sensationalized news misses declining crime rates

It might be a mythical story, but supposedly President Thomas Jefferson kept in his lobby a pile of newspapers with articles critical of his administration.

He wanted to show visitors his appreciation for the free flow of information and the free press in the United Sates.

We take it for granted now, but we in government do not decide what information you get – others do. Whether it is the newspaper, TV news, bloggers, or news Web sites, there is no single gatekeeper on what you can and cannot know.

It is important to recognize this fact as we look at the issue of crime and crime stories. The Kent Reporter included a good column a few weeks ago about the ever-present crime stories in the newspaper. They pointed out, correctly, that residents can and should know why that street was blocked off last week, or why there were 10 squad cars at your neighbor’s house.

Within some guidelines, such as whether a case is still under investigation or it involves a juvenile, the media can obtain and report most information with which we are involved.

However, it is important to understand the context of crime stories. If you watch Fox News, CNN or MSNBC regularly, you will notice that every other story is “breaking news” or a “news alert” with exclamation points added at the end. Cable TV news often includes the phrase “you gotta see this video”, which is a euphemism for “this has no real news value but looks cool”.

Twenty-Four-seven news coverage has created a need for constant news stories that are interesting and video-friendly, and crime stories often fit the bill. Local newspaper crime stories are sometimes viewed by readers through the same TV prism, even when the newspaper is factual rather than sensationalistic or lurid.

So, when I ask people if they think crime has increased or decreased overall in the past 10 years, many assume it has drastically increased. The fact is, crime has declined nationally over the past several years, including here in Kent.

Nationwide, the FBI reports that homicide, robbery, assault and violent crime overall have all declined between 1 percent and 10 percent the last three years. Property crimes, like burglary and auto theft, are also down. Not huge reductions, but counter to public perception.

In Kent we’ve seen dramatic decreases since 2006. Robberies are down 23 percent, auto theft is down 60 percent, residential burglary is down 31 percent, and commercial burglary is down 34 percent. We don’t bring this up to pat ourselves on the back, but rather to point out that there are good things going on because of partnerships between neighborhoods and the police. People are better at calling in suspicious activity. The focus on “high impact offenders” that targets highly prolific burglars and auto thieves has made a real difference too.

Our police department, however, never forgets that amongst all the statistics, our residents are individuals and families, not numbers, and any crime or instance of victimization is unacceptable and a very big deal to us.

For the mom who needs her 15-year-old Honda to get to work and daycare, we know that having that car stolen has a tremendous impact on the family. For the small business person who is working hard to make it in this tough economy, we know that a business burglary that results in inventory or store damage, perhaps even causing the business to be temporarily closed, is very serious.

People often tell us that police officers have good job security, because there will never be a shortage of knuckleheads out there committing crimes all over our country. Next time you watch “Cops” on TV and see the latest shirtless guy doing something stupid, remember that there is also a bigger, less dramatic trend—the public and police are working together and making a real difference.

Have a great week.