Most U.S. adults say they are interested in several types of local crime coverage, but far fewer say this information is easy to find.
Authors
Kirsten Eddy, Michael Lipka, Katerina Eva Matsa, Naomi Forman-Katz, Sarah Naseer, Christopher St. Aubin, Elisa Shearer
- Pages
- 13
- Published in
- United States of America
Files
Table of Contents
- About the Pew-Knight Initiative 2
- How we did this 3
- Most Americans turn to friends family and neighbors and local news outlets for local crime news 4
- Americans who often consume local crime news are more likely to be concerned about crime in their community affecting them or their family 5
- Most Americans are interested in various aspects of local crime news fewer find it easy to stay informed 7
- Americans have no single go-to source for information about a local crime 8
- Americans who prefer TV for local news are more likely to get crime news often 9
- Do Americans think news sources exaggerate or underplay the amount of local crime 10
- Democrats are more likely to say local crime news sources exaggerate the amount of crime in their community 12
- Younger Americans lean toward social media or search as first place to learn more about crime in their area 13
- Black Americans see news about violent crime in their local community more often than other groups 14
- 1. Sources of local crime news 15
- 77 of Americans get news about local crime at least sometimes 15
- Most Americans turn to friends family and neighbors and local news outlets for local crime information 17
- Americans who prefer TV for local news are more likely to get crime information from local news outlets 18
- Local crime news sources by age 19
- Older Americans are more likely to turn to local news outlets for local crime information less likely to turn to social media 19
- Americans have no single go-to source for information about a local crime 20
- 2. Types of local crime news 21
- About a third or more often see news about property drug-related and violent crime in their local area 21
- Black Americans are more likely than other racial and ethnic groups to see news about violent crime often 22
- Half of Americans are highly interested in what local officials are doing to address crime 23
- Black and Asian Americans women are especially interested in tips on how to stay safe from crime 24
- Americans say it is harder to find local news about crime patterns and causes than details of crimes and tips about safety 25
- 3. Quality of local crime news 26
- A third of Americans who consume local crime news are highly satisfied with it 26
- Americans who prefer TV for local news are most satisfied with the quality of local crime news 27
- 77 of those who get crime information from local police believe its at least somewhat accurate 28
- Do Americans think news sources exaggerate or underplay the amount of local crime 30
- Americans who prefer local TV news are less likely to say local news outlets exaggerate crime in community 31
- People who get local crime news from social media and local politicians are slightly more likely to say it is unfair to some racial and ethnic groups 32
- How Americans assess fairness of crime information from local law enforcement 34
- Black Americans and Democrats who get crime news from local police are more likely to say it is unfair to some people depending on their race or ethnicity 34
- 4. How Americans respond to local crime news 35
- Americans most often feel concerned and angry after seeing local crime news 35
- Americans who get local crime news more often are more likely to feel an emotional response to it 36
- Some groups are more likely to feel afraid for their safety after seeing local crime news 37
- Most Americans have spoken with their friends and family about crime in their local community 38
- Responses to local crime news by age and income 39
- Young Americans are more likely to post online about crime in their community 39
- Acknowledgments 40
- Research 40
- Kirsten Eddy Michael Lipka Katerina Eva Matsa 40
- Naomi Forman-Katz Sarah Naseer 40
- Christopher St. Aubin Elisa Shearer 40
- Luxuan Wang Jacob Liedke 40
- Editorial and Graphic Design 40
- John Gramlich 40
- David Kent 40
- Kaitlyn Radde Peter Bell 40
- Andrea Caumont 40
- Communications and Web Publishing 40
- Sogand Afkari 40
- Mithila Samak Justine Coleman 40
- Methodology 41
- Overview 41
- Panel recruitment 41
- American Trends Panel recruitment surveys 42
- Sample design 43
- Questionnaire development and testing 43
- Incentives 43
- Data collection protocol 43
- Invitation and reminder dates ATP Wave 141 44
- Data quality checks 44
- Weighting 45
- American Trends Panel weighting dimensions 45
- Sample sizes and margins of error ATP Wave 141 46
- Dispositions and response rates 47
- Final dispositions ATP Wave 141 47
- Cumulative response rate as of ATP Wave 141 47
