Violent crime is way down in Atlanta, despite what Trump says
Darin Givens | January 17, 2024
A few months ago, Donald Trump dubbed Atlanta a “war zone of violent crime.” That’s a lie.
Violent crime is actually at historic lows in almost every NPU in Atlanta according to a new post at the wonderfully data-rich 33n blog. The Buckhead area, which threatened to secede due to fear mongering about crime, remains the safest part of the city.
It’s true that property crimes are high, due largely to a huge spike in Atlanta car thefts. This is part of a national trend in car thefts that’s hitting a lot of cities. So there is a certain type of crime wave happening.
But when someone claims that Atlanta is a currently a cesspool of violent crime, whether it’s Trump or your angry uncle who never visits the city and who watches conservative news shows all day, they’re likely basing that belief on prejudiced ideas about the city and its residents. And we can safely assume that racial demographics play a role.
To read more on that, check out this excellent piece from Brandi Griffin who grew up in Atlanta. She writes:
“Major media outlets routinely present a distorted picture of communities of color. The narrative that has been created around communities similar to the one I grew up in is one of gang violence and drug crimes — written, told and oversold by aging white men who have had a strong presence in the newsroom for decades now.”
Well said. News media sends out ‘dog whistle’ reports about crime in majority-Black cities like Atlanta and I suspect that part of the appeal to the audience (beyond the obvious racism) is having their suburban residency justified as a superior choice. At least they’re not in the city, right?
