Chapter One

       Majority of the human race lacks personal experience with serious crimes. Since serious crimes are relatively rare, most people’s experience with crime is largely petty thefts and burglary. There is competition for viewers, listeners, and readers among these sources, so media outlets tend to spotlight extreme and dramatic cases in order to generate public interest. A Gallup poll on crime shows how a single event shapes public perceptions. Stories featured on network news have been shown to disproportionately focus on violent crimes, something that is attributed to competition for viewers and the public’s interest in crime news. Having this exposure so violent crimes through the news results in public demand for solutions.

          Politicians are elected officials who must appear responsive to the public’s wishes, and media images of crime thus shape their action as well. Crime is portrayed in terms of dramatic incidents that heighten the public’s desire to “fix” the problem, politicians are often quick to oblige. Cases of sensational crimes have led to the passage of laws that are often named after specific crime victims.  Politicians often shape crime news to match their political ideology. If crime is portrayed as part of a larger social problem, solutions require major investments to change.

          Crime and other life events explains the chances of an individual being hurt in an accident, being stuck my lightening, and those dying of cancer. On That’s a Fact, the top thirteen deaths are: heart disease, cancer, stroke, lung disease, all accidents, diabetes mellitus, Alzheimer’s disease, pneumonia and flu, kidney disease, blood poisoning, suicide, liver disease, and hypertension. The ranking of various causes of deaths have shifted generally downward as public health has improved. The decrease in rates of death from heart disease, cancer, pneumonia and flu, and liver disease are largely due to changes in the lifestyle, exercise habits, and diet of the U.S. citizens over the last two decades.

          Effects of fear did a Gallop poll asking, “What do you think is the most important problem facing this country today?” People replied with international problems, racial problems, high cost of living, unemployment, or too much government control. Then in 2006 the same question was asked again and Middle East/Iraq war, immigration/illegal aliens, health care, political corruption and failed leadership, energy prices, the economy in general, terrorism, and poverty and unemployment was what people replied with. The public’s general concerns about crime result in apprehension and fear. A Gallup poll found that half of Americans described the nation’s crime problem as either “extremely” or “very” serious. Every time a Gallup conducts a poll, crime has been the number one or two local concern every time.