La criminalité est-elle vraiment pire que jamais aux États-Unis?

by Frédéric Arnould
US Correspondent/Correspondant aux États-Unis
April 21, 2024
Radio-Canada

Is crime really worse than ever in the United States?

In this presidential election year in the United States, the theme of insecurity occupies an important place in Americans’ concerns. What do the numbers say? Is there really a violent crime wave that justifies this anxiety? Or is this a perception maintained by certain elected officials and media who use fear for political ends?

… The number of violent incidents and crimes in New York is lower than in some Southern states, says Jeffrey Butts, a professor and researcher at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice at the City University of New York (CUNY). “It’s common for people to immediately think of crime when they think of a big city because there are 8 million of us [people]. Crimes are committed, but if you think about the likelihood of being a victim of crime, New York is not the center of the crime world. In fact, it’s not even in the top 10 right now.”

… At the end of January, a confrontation occurred between police officers and Hispanic migrants in Time Square. The videos provided by the police, however, indicate that the circumstances of the intervention remained unclear, with the police potentially having provoked the people arrested.

Everyone forms an opinion first and then the facts come out, notes Professor Jeffrey Butts. Afterwards, he says, it becomes difficult to change people’s minds. Because, in fact, according to Mr. Butts, there is no wave of crimes perpetrated by migrants.

Political marketing

… “It’s an invention of the media, I shouldn’t just blame the media,” explains Jeffrey Butts, “because politicians love to use the issue of crime to mobilize their voters, to inspire them with fear, anxiety, hatred, and racism — and it works.”

Today, people take shortcuts, in their own interest, in order to mobilize their voters despite the consequences.
— Jeffrey Butts, professor and researcher at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, CUNY