More broadcast journalism

[Joel S. Berson]

At 5/1/2010 09:15 AM, Bill Palmer wrote:
>Twice in the past few days (Lou Dobbs this morning + one other time
>a few days ago by someone else, but I don't remember who)
>conservative commentators have asserted that Arizona now has a crime
>rate equal to that of NYC.  That seems unremarkable.  I'm sure there
>are many places with crime rates that equal or exceed
>NYC's...Detroit, Richmond, St, Louis, Atlanta, maybe.

Sherlock Holmes always said (well, he said once) that there was
surely more crime in the country than in the city, because there was
less chance of being observed.  (Gov. Bradford of Plymouth would
probably have agreed with him.  When journalizing 1642 -- a year when
he was seriously disturbed about the apparently increased rate of
serious crime -- Bradford wrote "hear [that is, here] (as I am verily
perswaded) is not more evills in this kind, nor nothing nere so many
by proportion, as in other places; but they are here more discoverd
and seen, and made publick by due serch, inquisition, and due punishment".)

Perhaps the crime rate in Arizona has increased (if in fact that is
the case) because there are more sheriffs out looking for
illegal-alien-looking people.  Just as the rate of <name any of
several diseases> has increased because we are now better at finding it.


>It would only be noteworty if there was an equal amount of total
>crime, nest-ce pas?

Why is the total amount of crime more significant than the rate (say,
per person per year)?

Joel

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