Despite several studies showing that the national crime rate is at its lowest point since 1973, many Memphians feel the statistics don't relate to their own backyard.
"I think it's gotten worse, and it's gonna get worse," said Linda Reed, who works for an agency that deals with employment and bankruptcy discrimination.
Reed may have reason to believe Memphis is an exception to the rule.
National crime rates, as reported by the Justice Department, are at their lowest point since compiling testimonies from crime victims began in 1973. However, the crime rates in Memphis are 2.5 times greater than the national average.
Richard Janikowski, a criminology professor at The University of Memphis, says that when looking at statistics, comparing Memphis' crime rate to the national average can be misleading.
"Larger cities always have higher crime rates. In using the national average, you are comparing Memphis to all cities of 10,000 or above in population," Janikowski said. "A more appropriate comparison is to other cities with 500,000 to 1 million population."
In the low-income neighborhoods where Reed does much of her work, she often sees the desperation of people trying to make ends meet. According to Reed, the lack of resources and education offered to people in the inner-city can make them turn to drugs, gangs and inevitably crime.
"Between all of that, people are gonna do whatever they can - even if that means attacking people like us," Reed said.
Reed also said she doesn't place much importance on the implications of statistical data on crime rates.
"You can have data say whatever you want it to say, but I see the reality of it every day," Reed said.
Even though crime rates in Memphis are higher than the national average, they have been fairly steady over the past 20 years. That same data shows crime has actually been slightly declining in Memphis over the past five years.
Leigh Ann Ross, a freshman at The U of M who lives in Arlington, Tenn., said she believes crime rates have gone down, but still doesn't feel safe just anywhere.
"It all still depends on the neighborhood you're going into," Ross said.
Chris VanGundy, a computer technician who lives in midtown Memphis, said he thinks crime as a whole may be on the decline, but technology has made it even easier for those who commit crimes.
"The individual's capacity for violence is increasing, but as a whole I think crime is going down," VanGundy said.
Of those Memphians who believe crime is on the rise in Memphis, many attribute their views to the portrayal of the city in the media.
Wahpillar Sonkarley, a freshman at The U of M, said crime seems worse in Memphis than in Benton Arbor, Mich., where she previously lived. As a whole she believes crime rates have gone up but that "it depends on what city and state you're in."
"I hear of more robberies and crime here," Sonkarley said. "Every day you can turn on the news and there's always some type of crime that's going on."
The population of Benton Harbor, Mich., was 11,052 in 2002, whereas the population in Memphis at that time was 650,100.
Fernanda Botelho, a mathematics professor at The U of M, said crime is going up but that the media may be to blame for the public's perception that crime has gotten worse.
"Our whole perception is to generalize," Botelho said. "The news, the paper - we are inundated with these things happening."
Vicki Trahan, who lives in Germantown and believes crime rates are on the rise, said technology advances in the news media could be the reason crime is covered more intensely.
"Maybe the media back then didn't cover it as much. They could be covering crime more because they've gotten more sophisticated," Trahan said.
Janikowski credits the news media as one of the many reasons the public believes crime as gotten much worse. He lists the expansion of news coverage, the prevalence of crime news and the emergence of "quasi news shows" that focus entirely on crime as reasons the media may be to blame.
"As a result, viewers often feel as if they are under siege from crime," Janikowski said.
The statistics themselves could also be cause for the public's faulty perception of crime rates, Janikowski said.
"Few readers or viewers, and in fact journalists - particularly with the changes in how newsrooms are staffed and reporters assigned - understand crime data, its limitations and how to interpret it," Janikowski said.
