Legion Troll
A fine upstanding poster
STRONG LEADER TRUMP - ONLY HE CAN PROTECT PANICKED PUSILLANIMOUS PANTY-PISSERS
Americans are more afraid of violent crime today than they have been at any time since before the September 11 terror attacks — even as long-term trends suggest the United States is a safer place to live.
Trump is capitalizing on the fears, and made law and order a central part of his speech accepting the GOP presidential nomination.
“The first task for our new Administration will be to liberate our citizens from the crime and terrorism and lawlessness that threatens their communities,” Trump said.
“Homicides last year increased by 17 percent in America’s 50 largest cities,” Trump said. “That’s the largest increase in 25 years. In our nation’s capital, killings have risen by 50 percent. They are up nearly 60 percent in nearby Baltimore.”
It’s not clear where Trump’s statistics come from. The Northeast actually saw violent crime drop by 3 percent. Trump’s claim that killings have risen by 50 percent in D.C. and 60 percent in Baltimore isn’t accurate, according to police department data from both cities. To date in D.C., homicides are actually down 9 percent from 2015. In Baltimore, they’re down about 13 percent.
The long-term trend is a drop in violent crime. It has been sliced almost in half since it peaked in the 1990s.
As recently as 2014, the most recent year for which the FBI has released complete data, the violent crime total was still dropping — 7 percent from 2010 and 16 percent from 2005.
Polls show public concern about crime is at a 15-year high.
Over half of Americans say they worry "a great deal" about crime and violence — more than say they worry about a terrorist attack. At 53 percent, it’s a 14-point rise since 2014 and the highest figure Gallup has recorded since spring of 2001. Only one group remained essentially immune: college graduates.
“Americans' perceptions of crime are not always on par with reality,” notes Gallup. A poll showed seven in 10 Americans believed crime was rising, even though few had been the victim of a crime.
http://thehill.com/policy/national-security/288915-trump-capitalizing-on-fears-over-crime