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Most Americans are wrong about crime

But they’re right that something has changed in American cities.

by Adam Freelander

Adam Freelander
Adam Freelander is the supervising story editor and a producer on the Vox video team covering the US.

In 2020 and 2021, amid a pandemic that wreaked general havoc on the social fabric of the United States, violent crime rose. Today, most Americans believe that crime in the US has come roaring back — maybe even to the levels of the 1980s and ’90s.

But a look at the data tells a very different story. Nevertheless, the feeling that our cities are less safe is at least partly coming from something real. Something has changed in American cities, particularly since the pandemic. So what’s different, and what is the truth about crime in America right now?

This video is presented by BetterHelp. BetterHelp doesn’t have a say in our editorial decisions, but it makes videos like this possible.

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