The authors note that the over-representation of blacks in crime rates has been greatly exaggerated and is restricted to certain categories. Further, there is a large category of offenses which show no race effect, and other offenses in which blacks are under-represented. The authors point out factual inaccuracies and also assert that a simple correlation between two variables does not constitute evidence of a causal relationship; a multitude of other confounding factors must first be ruled out. Environmental theories of crime, they believe, offer a far more powerful explanation of temporal and cross-cultural variations in crime rates. They conclude that, while the news media are particularly sensitized to controversial research, and public opinion is greatly affected by the news media, there is little scientific basis for Rushton's assertions. 2 notes, 59 references. (Author abstract modified)