Serious crime in Boston is at a 20-year low, but criminologists warn that the improved numbers released last week should not give all residents a greater sense of security. An analysis of national and local crime statistics shows that juveniles are committing substantially more crimes and that murder by gunfire has soared. It's not until you get to paragraph five that you find that in Boston murder is down 4 percent for the first six months of '94 compared to the first six of '93, rape is down 10 percent, and aggravated assault is down 9 percent.
Violent crime is down nation-wide, in fact.
The rate of violent crime has been fairly steady over the last 15 years. The murder rate actually fell between 1980 and 1990, although aggravated assault has risen quite a bit, and rape rose a little. Yet fear of crime seems to be going up steadily. Like all manufacturers, the makers of crime news strive to constantly broaden their market. They try to diversify their product line, increase public awareness of its existence, raise its quality, and increase its quantity.