Although local crime news is one of Americans’ most-followed local news topics, only a third of U.S. adults who get this type of news say they are extremely or very satisfied with its quality.
This is similar to the level of satisfaction among those who get news about local schools or arts and culture, and slightly higher than the share who are satisfied with the news they get about the local economy (26%) and local politics (25%). Larger shares of Americans who get news about local weather, traffic and sports are highly satisfied in these areas.
Among Americans who get local crime news, about half (48%) say they are somewhat satisfied with the quality of this news, and 18% say they are not too or not at all satisfied.
Similar to local political news, those who get local crime news more often are more likely to say they’re satisfied with its quality.
There are few major differences in satisfaction with local crime news across demographic groups, including political party. Among those who get news about local crime, roughly a third of Democrats and independents who lean toward the Democratic Party (34%) as well as Republicans and Republican leaners (33%) say they are extremely or very satisfied with its quality. Similar shares across both parties also express that they are not very or not at all satisfied (19% and 18%, respectively).
Americans who prefer to get local news in general from television are somewhat more likely than those who prefer other platforms to say they are highly satisfied with the quality of news they get about local crime, regardless of which source it comes from.
About four-in-ten of these local TV news consumers (41%) say they are extremely or very satisfied with the quality of local crime news they get, compared with roughly three-in-ten of those who prefer print newspapers, radio, news websites or apps, or social media.
Perceptions of accuracy of local crime news
Majorities of Americans who get local crime news from most sources perceive that information as at least somewhat accurate – although relatively few say the information is very accurate.
- U.S. adults who get crime news from local news outlets (79%), local law enforcement (77%), and friends, family and neighbors (72%) are most likely to say that the information they get from these sources is very or somewhat accurate. No more than about a quarter say the information from any of these sources is very accurate, although Americans are more likely to say this about local law enforcement (27%) than any other source.
- Slightly smaller shares who get local crime news from digital platforms such as social media (60%) and locally focused apps like Nextdoor or Ring (56%) say the information from these sources is at least somewhat accurate.
- Fewer than half of Americans who get crime news from local politicians (46%) say this information is very or somewhat accurate. Nearly a third (31%) say it is not too or not at all accurate, and 22% say they are not sure. Similar shares of Democrats (47%) and Republicans (46%) say the crime information they get from local politicians is very or somewhat accurate.
Americans have more confidence in the accuracy of crime information from local law enforcement than from local politicians. This is in line with previous surveys, which have found that Americans also have much more confidence in police officers than elected officials to act in the best interests of the public.
While older consumers of crime news from each source generally are more likely than younger groups to say the local crime information they get is at least somewhat accurate, the opposite is true for social media. Roughly two-thirds of Americans under 50 (64%) see the crime information they get on social media as accurate, compared with 54% of those over 50. Younger Americans also are more likely to trust information from social media in general.
Are sources viewed as exaggerating or underplaying local crime?
Given the old journalism cliché that “if it bleeds, it leads,” the survey also asked people who get local crime news from each source whether they think that information exaggerates or underplays the amount of crime in their local community – or gets it about right.
Fewer than half of Americans who get crime news from each source say that the information from that source exaggerates or underplays the crime in their area.
Those who get local crime news from social sources of crime information– including social media, locally focused apps or sites, and family, friends and neighbors – are more likely to say these sources exaggerate the amount of crime in their community than underplay it.
On the other hand, Americans who get local crime news from official sources (i.e., local politicians and local law enforcement) are more inclined to say these sources underplay the amount of crime in their community rather than exaggerate it.
Similar shares of those who get crime information from local news outlets say the information they get underplays (18%) and exaggerates (15%) the amount of crime in their local community.
About half of U.S. adults who get crime news from friends, family and neighbors (52%), local law enforcement (52%) and local news outlets (50%) say these sources get the amount of crime about right. For the other three sources (local politicians, social media and locally focused apps), a quarter or more of consumers of local crime content say they are not sure if those sources exaggerate or underplay the amount of crime in their area.
Some groups are more likely than others to perceive crime information as exaggerated:
- Across all sources, younger Americans who consume local crime news are far more likely than older adults to think the amount of crime in their community is exaggerated by each source.
- Similarly, Democrats who get local crime news from each source are more likely than Republicans to say the information they get exaggerates the amount of crime in their community.
- Those who prefer social media or news websites or apps for local news are more likely than those who prefer other platforms to say that the information about crime they see from local news outlets exaggerates the amount of crime in their community (22% and 20%, respectively).
On the other hand, just 9% of Americans who prefer getting local news via TV say the crime information they see from local news outlets exaggerates the amount of crime in their local community. A slightly larger share (16%) say local news outlets underplay the amount of crime in their area, and 60% say they get it about right.
Perceptions of fairness of local crime news depending on race
We also asked whether Americans who get information about local crime from each source generally see it as fair to everyone regardless of their race or ethnicity. Some local crime coverage has been criticized as racially biased, and our 2023 study of Black Americans’ experiences with news found that some Black Americans view crime coverage as one way in which news outlets’ treatment of Black people has been lacking. In general, Black Americans are more likely than other racial and ethnic groups to say they often see racist or racially insensitive news coverage of Black people.
Majorities of U.S. adults who get local crime news from friends, family and neighbors (65%), local news outlets (63%) and local law enforcement (57%) say these sources are generally fair to everyone. Smaller shares say crime information coming from locally focused apps (46%), social media (43%) or local politicians (41%) is generally fair.
About a quarter of those who get crime news from social media (28%) or local politicians (27%) say the information there is unfair to some people depending on their race or ethnicity. Roughly three-in-ten also say they are not sure whether each source is fair to people depending on their race or ethnicity.
These perceptions differ consistently by political party, with Republicans more likely than Democrats to perceive all sources they get local crime news from as generally fair to everyone. In most cases, White Americans also are more likely than other racial and ethnic groups to perceive sources they consume crime information from as fair. These differences are most stark when it comes to perceptions of crime information from local law enforcement.
How Americans assess fairness of crime information from local law enforcement
The murder of George Floyd by police in 2020 raised questions about how the police themselves report a variety of incidents.
About four-in-ten Americans (41%) at least sometimes get crime news directly from local law enforcement, whether through social media feeds, police reports or in other ways. A majority of people in this category (57%) say this information is generally fair to everyone, regardless of their race or ethnicity. Meanwhile, 22% believe crime information from local police is unfair to some people depending on their race or ethnicity, and 20% are not sure.
These perceptions vary across demographic groups:
- Four-in-ten Black Americans say the crime information they get from local law enforcement is unfair to some people depending on their race or ethnicity. This is higher than the share among Hispanic (27%), Asian (23%) and White (17%) Americans.
- Democrats (34%) who get crime news from local law enforcement are about three times as likely as Republicans (11%) to say the information is skewed based on race. There remains a substantial gap between the parties even when looking only at White Democrats and White Republicans (30% vs. 9%). Overall, seven-in-ten Republicans say the crime information they get from local police is generally fair to everyone.
