Violent crime is down. Crime reporting is up.

This is especially true of TV news, where “Police conduct high-speed chase” is more likely to top a newscast than “U.S. crime rate stays at 30-year low” or “Juvenile arrest rate plummets.”

The result is that while the streets are safer, fear doesn’t abate. The disconnect between perception and reality has a corrosive influence on communities. Fear affects whether people will decide to move to a community and where in that community they will live. Fear has given rise to gated communities, long commutes and decaying downtowns.

Perception has so overwhelmed reality that it’s almost fruitless to point out the facts, but here goes:

“The violent crime rate is at its lowest level since the U.S. Justice Department began surveying victims in 1973. Since 1993, the national violent crime rate has fallen by 57 percent and property crime by 50 percent. Since 1993, the U.S. rates for rapes and robberies have dropped by nearly two-thirds.

“Arrest rates for violent crimes in Washington state are less than half what they were in the early 1980s. The state’s juvenile arrest rate is at its lowest point in more than 20 years.

So why haven’t fears plunged along with crime rates? Tune into TV news, whether it’s local, network or cable, to find out why. The Project for Excellence in Media conducted a five-year content analysis of TV news and the results weren’t pretty. By 2 to 1, crime was the most common topic. Sixty-one percent of top stories were about crime, accidents, severe weather, bizarre incidents, fires and other catastrophes.

If stations don’t have local mayhem to show, they broadcast footage from around the world (“Check out this video of a robber attacking a store clerk in Detroit”). Many evening and late-night newscasts lead with “breaking news” that conveys flashing lights, yellow tape and few details. The images are compelling, but without perspective, context and more information they communicate only chaos and fear.

The only reality connected to the upswing in crime reporting is that news budgets have been slashed and stations have fewer resources. It’s easier to grab crime footage than to report on business, poverty, health care and politics. The recent epidemic in missing-persons reporting isn’t tied to an increase in people snatching; it’s tied to ratings and bottom lines.

Polls have long shown that TV news is considered the most credible source of information among all media. With such trust comes responsibility. Broadcasters should take a deep breath and consider the long-term ramifications of their daily mayhem roundups.