Yet despite the fact that the United States is now unquestionably safer from crime than it was thirty years ago, when surveyed, Americans overwhelmingly believe the opposite. Every year since 1989, as part of its polling on crime, Gallup has asked respondents a simple question: “Is there more crime in the U.S. than there was a year ago, or less?” In each year except for 2001, the Americans polled said there was “more” crime by an average margin of close to 50 points!
A significant reason for this massive misperception is the media. Crime is regularly depicted on network television shows, print and visual news, and in reality TV. So though most of us will only rarely experience crime in our lives – if we ever do at all – we see and hear about it all the time. This places crime squarely at the front of our minds.
And perhaps no show has been more responsible for that placement than COPS. Since premiering on Fox in March 1989, there have been 33 seasons of the syndicated reality show. Across its 1,109 episodes, camera crews tail along with police officers as they perform their duties: busting prostitutes, responding to domestic disputes, chasing burglary suspects, and apprehending illegal drug users.
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