While many in the media have attempted to downplay rising crime in America, noted author and economist John Lott Jr. says a majority of the public is alarmed about it and rightly so. 

Lott wrote recently in The Wall Street Journal about America’s crime rate, contending that “[t]he decline in reported crimes is a function of less reporting, not less crime.”

Lott is the president of the Crime Prevention Research Center and the author of “More Guns Less Crime” and “Dumbing Down the Courts,” among other books. He is also a former chief economist at the U.S. Sentencing Commission.

In an interview with The Daily Signal, Lott explains why the FBI reports a decline in crime, even as more Americans say they have been victims of violent crime and property crimes. 

Listen to the interview on “The Daily Signal Podcast” with Lott: