Nationally, fear of crime has drifted down from the record levels of 1994. The Gallup Poll has asked the nation for many years what the most important problem is facing the country. Fear of crime has grown for two reasons. First, even though crime rates have been going down nationally for the past five years, the volume of crime news has increased. The public, which does not study crime statistics from the U.S. Department of Justice, judges crime rates, that is, the prevalence of crime by assessing the volume of crime news that they receive.
Violent crime is the basis of dozens of hours of prime-time television entertainment.
The advertising on television news is a major revenue source for local television stations. Crime news draws viewers. The decision by advertising directors and programming managers of television stations to highlight news of crime is the leading factor in creating the false impression that America is getting more violent and that the crime rate is increasing. The second factor in the increased prominence of crime as the nation's leading problem is that the cold war has ended, international tensions are reduced, and the economy is very strong. Unemployment is low, interest rates are low, and Wall Street is reaching historic highs.