It is so important to them that they even put out an announcement to their field officers, alerting them as to which cases will be featured on that week's broadcast. A mysterious phone call could be the best clue yet. We're delighted, Mr. Walsh, that you are here to help us. We work very closely with police. You can remain anonymous.
Critics say the broadcast engenders an exaggerated fear of crime.
We are lucky in the United States now that we have the lowest homicide rate since 1967. Unfortunately, those rates don't correspond to people's perception of their safety. They believe a man who shot his girlfriend this morning may be holed up. Basically, there's all crime all the time. These shows collectively create a very warped perception of how safe we are.