We all know the types of criticisms that have been leveled at the GTA series, and on this most auspicious of days, it seems appropriate to examine the media frenzy surrounding violence in the game. Certainly, there have been a few hiccups during the launch of GTA IV, but over at Game Politics, they have an analysis looking for a possible correlation between GTA releases and violence against police officers.
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GamePolitics.com” />Many of the criminal elements of GTA that the media launch on to are entirely avoidable. There’s nothing in the game that forces you to have sex with prostitutes. There’s nothing in the game that forces you to kill the prostitutes afterward to get your money back (that’s just good business practice). Unfortunately, as a game with a criminal as the protagonist, you are forced into an adversarial role with the police, and unless you’re really really good, you’re probably going to have to kill a few virtual cops. Ret. Col. Dave Grossman, author of Stop Teaching Our Kids to Kill–a book I’m ashamed to admit is on my bookshelf–has pegged video games as cop killer simulators.
According to research at GP, that just isn’t the case. At least, there doesn’t appear to be any direct correlation between the release of GTA games and the violent deaths of police officers:
In the chart, I’ve plotted FBI figures for police officers feloniously killed (blue line) and police officers assaulted (red line, listed in thousands). As can be seen, police officer murders peaked at 70 in 1997 (i.e., four years before GTA III) and again in 2001. GTA III was released in late October that year, so if the game caused that year’s spike, it would have had only two months in which to do so. (also, the 2001 figures don’t count the 72 officers lost when the World Trade Centers collapsed).
The chart shows that since GTA III was released police killings have been trending downward to a low of 48 in 2006. Although the FBI has not yet posted 2007 numbers, the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund lists 68 police officers as having been shot to death in 2007. But it’s worth pointing out that while there may have been a spike in police slayings last year, there was no corresponding GTA release. There hasn’t been a new Grand Theft Auto console title issued since San Andreas in October, 2004.
Furthermore, assaults on police officers have appeared to remain fairly constant over the course of GTA’s lifespan. There have been dips and rises, but those don’t equate with the release of GTA:
In regard to assaults on police officers (red line on chart), there is even less fluctuation. For the years listed, assaults peaked in 1998 at 60,673. Once again, this was three years before the release of GTA III. In the intervening years assaults hit a low of 55,971 (1999) and a high of 59,662 (2004). They have never again reached 1998’s level. While San Andreas was released in 2004, it didn’t hit retail channels until October 26th. Assaults on police subsequently dropped to 57,820 in 2005.
This is by no means a definitive study, but it provide gamers with some handy evidence should the uninitiated start laying blame at the feet of the Rockstar franchise. Considering that I know police officers (admittedly of a younger generation than most) who play GTA games, I find the notion that a game like this could inspire children to kill police officers to be quite suspect. I’m just waiting for the Law & Order episode about some kid getting killed because of a GTA-like game. Ripped from the headlines!
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