"Who are you going to trust, me or your lying eyes?" The issue is that the stats don't tell the whole story. Most states/cities have simply decriminalized behavior that was previously considered 'crime' so that's why people think crime rates are rising when they see more open drug use, brazen theft like shoplifting or car break ins, and prostitutes walking around in public in their underwear--so people rightfully feel like crime is increasing because they see all this happening around them. Alas, the media and politicians say 'nothing is happening' because now prostitution, theft, and drugs are decriminalized. I am only in my mid 30s and have lived in California my entire life and I've never seen more open drug use, more theft/shoplifting, and prostitution is now more flagrant than it's ever been. Things really seem to accelerate into a free fall after prop 47 was passed.