False Narratives Watch: Crime and the Economy
NPR has a story up about crime dropping for the third straight year “despite” the economic downturn. The implication is that we should expect crime rates to skyrocket during a recession and that it’s odd or weird that we’re not seeing that during the Great Recession.
While NPR does quote researchers all too willing to back up this premise, at least one report says (in so many words) that the connection is bogus. A 2009 report by the National Council on Crime and Delinquency finds scant connection between crime rates and the economy in history.
At the very least, NPR and other reporters covering the crime story should be pointing this out.