AP US Government and Politics

Double prediction:

1. Is the US crime rate going up?

2. What percent of Americans think the crime rate is going up?

1. How accurate was your prediction about the crime rate?

2. How accurate was your prediction about American perception of the crime rate?

3. What story does the public perception of crime chart (left) tell?

4. Why do you think that is?

5. What is one consequence of this?

6. What is the actual direction the crime rate is headed in the US (right)?

7. Why do you think that is?

8. What is one consequence of this?

9. What explains the disconnect between reality and perception regarding crime?

10. How much is perception of crime influenced by political party identification*?

11. If the trends from these charts continue, what will these charts look like in 10 years?

12. Who benefits from this misunderstanding?

13. Who suffers from this misunderstanding?

14. What policies are a result of this misunderstanding?

15. How much do you think this affected the 2016 presidential campaign?

16. On election day 2016, Just 5% of pro-Trump voters said crime has gotten better since 2008. Why do you think they were so misinformed?

17. Despite evidence to the contrary, why do you think POTUS Trump and Attorney General Jeffrey Beauregard Sessions continue to say crime is increasing in the US (and, in Trump's case, even in Sweden)?

Learning Extension

Read more about how voter perceptions conflict with reality.

Action Extension

Help educate the president of the United States. Share the data on crime in the US with the president.

Bonus Chart*