The 180

Why crime rates feel high, if stats say they're dropping

We speak to author Dan Gardner about why crime stats and public perception don't always match, and imagine a breaking news report that reflected some of Canada's actual leading causes of death.
Yellow crime tape is stretched out in front of a police car. (AP Photo/The Orange County Register, Mark Rightmire) (The Associated Press)

A new set of numbers has come out showing a decrease in crime rates in Canada. Statistics Canada says, for example, the murder rate is the lowest it's been since 1966.

However, a public opinion poll done by Ipsos-Reid indicates that only a minority of Canadians feel the number of homicides in the country is going down, and a third believe it's actually rising.

We speak to author Dan Gardner about why that might be, and we try to imagine a breaking news report that reflected some of Canada's actual leading causes of death.