[finalarbiter]

Massive wealth aside, I would argue that any decrease in crime is nullified in recent years by the increase in sensationalization of specific crimes. That is, reading "crime rates in <city> drop to historic lows in 2025" does not have as much emotional weight as seeing a social media video of a violent crime happening near one's home, even if the statistic is true.

Consider how many children were terrified to swim in the ocean after seeing Jaws for the first time... statistics do very little to allay existing (irrational) fears for most people.

[watwut]

Imo, what is actually happening is fear of crime far away - like rural people being almost terrified of cities and entirely on board with sending army there.

People are not afraid of sensational crime next door. They want crime to be happening where political opponents live, so that they can feel good about punishing them.