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| US crime hits 30-year low |
| 2003-08-25 |
| Crime in the United States fell last year to the lowest level since records started being compiled 30 years ago, the US Justice Department has said. About 23 million violent and property crimes were reported in 2002, compared with some 44 million in 1973, according to the annual survey by the Bureau of Justice Statistics. The decline was seen in every category of crime measured by the department. Attorney General John Ashcroft attributed the drop to the work of police and prosecutors. But some crime experts say tougher prison sentences and the building of additional prisons are more likely explanations. What a suprise, locking criminals up cuts crime. Violent crimes fell from 10.5 million incidents in 1993 to 5.3 million in 2002. Crime against property over the same period was also relatively lower, falling from 319 crimes per 1,000 households to 159. Rape or sexual assault was down 56%, while robbery was down 63%, and aggravated assault down 64%. The decline in violent crime was experienced by all demographic groups, the survey said. However there has been a slight rise in the number of murders, which are measured separately by the FBI. In 2002, 16,110 people were murdered - a 0.8 percentage point rise on 2001, according to preliminary statistics based on police reports from across the country. |
| Posted by:Steve |
| #10 "attributed the drop to the work of police and prosecutors. But some crime experts say tougher prison sentences and the building of additional prisons are more likely explanations" If the police and prosecutors don't do their work properly, the sentences won't be handed down and the additional prisons won't be needed. The observation that a small portion of the population commits a large part of the crime is what led to the widespread policy of attempting to identify career crooks and putting them away for long periods: deterring crime by confining those most likely to commit it. This policy seems to be paying off. |
| Posted by: Tresho 2003-8-26 4:12:05 AM |
| #9 Gee who'd have thunk it? Put criminals in prison; build more prisons; take away judges discretion in sentencing; and the crime rate goes down. Aw, its just global warming. |
| Posted by: TJ Jackson 2003-8-25 11:16:30 PM |
| #8 Frank, you're close. The headline in the NYT will be: Prison Population Levels Questioned As Crime Hits 30 Year Low. |
| Posted by: R. McLeod 2003-8-25 8:59:12 PM |
| #7 Crime is a young mans game. The baby boom gen is aging. I know/knew many druggy criminals and they are either dead now or pretty burnt up. A new baby boom of people from South of the border could lead to a new crime wave in the near future. |
| Posted by: Lucky 2003-8-25 12:24:06 PM |
| #6 mhw - my sisters' a crime analyst for the SDPD, and based on the recidivism rate the majority of crimes are committed by a hardened few, the lengthier sentencing keeps more of them in prison - ergo less crime from those repeaters....there's always exceptions, and for small drug user crimes, I'd think rehab or drug court is more appropriate than locking them up with the hard boys |
| Posted by: Frank G 2003-8-25 12:07:04 PM |
| #5 Crime stats are frequently used and misused. The 'longer prison sentences' causes fewer crimes or 'more incarcerated' causes fewer crimes conclusion is not an automatic. It may be that in States with no increase in the incarcerated population, there were bigger decreases in crime than in States with large increases in the incarcerated population. The internals of these statistics need to be looked at closely before conclusions are drawn. |
| Posted by: mhw 2003-8-25 11:25:43 AM |
| #4 ..The problem, of course, is getting the drug-producing countries to take these parasites off our hands..... C130, rolloff box with bars.....Touch and go.... Done. dorf |
| Posted by: Anonymous 2003-8-25 10:59:11 AM |
| #3 If we shipped druggies to the country that produced their favorite product, the entire drug industry would be more efficient. The problem, of course, is getting the drug-producing countries to take these parasites off our hands. Good idea, though. |
| Posted by: Zhang Fei 2003-8-25 10:34:06 AM |
| #2 With respect to locking up drug offenders, I prefer a deportation process. If we shipped druggies to the country that produced their favorite product, the entire drug industry would be more efficient. The mark-up on some drugs is incredibly inflated. |
| Posted by: Steve D 2003-8-25 10:18:12 AM |
| #1 Wait for the NY TImes....it can't be more than a day or two before a headline: "America's Failure: Why Are Our Prisons So Packed? Crime is at an all time low" |
| Posted by: Frank G 2003-8-25 9:35:38 AM |