During the 1990s, the U.S. had crime rates that were on a steady increase and showed no signs of stopping by any means. As the cocaine epidemic swept through the 1980’s onward, it only furthered the increasing amount of crime present, not only that, but there were also numerous homicide cases, most of which involved some kind of violent crime and most notably, gun violence. This information only doubled the number of violent or criminal crimes committed from 1985 forward into the 1990s. As the years went on, several experts began to estimate that the amount of crime would do nothing but increase as the years went on, but, it was the opposite that occurred, and instead of rising, the amount of criminal occurrences had actually went down, and …show more content…
Take New York City for example, once the new millennia of the 2000’s had come, the number of homicides were cut almost in half, over time it became an obvious trend that did nothing but continue forward from then on. Though it may have been much slower and definitely had more than a few fluctuations until reaching present day. In this day in age, Americans are now living in what most would agree to be the least violent times in our nation’s history (give or take a hard hitting tragedy every now and again). With all this in mind, the question now being posed is why this steady decline in crime has happened and what may be the cause of …show more content…
In fact, there is some research to suggest such a connection, and though it is a minor connection, this still shows that there are analytics being done on this subject or a similar topic with researchers starting several studies and with time have conceived the idea that because of the greater opportunity for legal income, the need for illegal sources of income become needed less and less, with that in mind, it is easy to see why crime has gone down in more recent years. Not only that, but there is also the idea that because of America’s mass incarceration and general criminal justice system both seem to work as a preventing measure that stops criminals from committing crimes in the first place or, because of the criminal justice system present in America, there simply aren’t enough criminals still around to make the crime rates move upwards much if at
In The Rich Get Richer and the Poor Get Prison by Jeffery Reiman and Paul Leighton, four multifaceted issues are focused on and examined. These issues are the Unites States high crime rates, efforts in explaining the high crime rates, where the high crime rates originally came from, and the success attained at a high price. The initial key issue that Reiman and Leighton discuss is America’s high rising crime rates with the understanding of the people that believe policy and regulations are the causes of the decrease in crime. The many graphs throughout the chapter represent information that undoubtedly illustrates that specific policy and regulation may cause rates to become stagnate or strike a plateau. While the rule makers make it appear as though their organization is functioning. Later guns and gun control policy are discussed. With the stern enforcement of the gun policy, at the time, crime appeared to decline, or become stagnate resulting in a plateau effect that is illustrated in the graphs. Countless arrests were made with large quantities of people being imprisoned. Du...
In chapter 4 of Freakonomics, “Where Have All the Criminals Gone?” Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner discuss and argue the possible reasons for the crime drop in the 1990’s, asking and focusing on the question “just where did all those criminals go” (108)? The authors open with a story about the abortion laws in Romania, transitioning into the many factors that could have affected the 1990’s crime drop in America. Some of these factors include the following; Strong economy, increase in police, gun-control laws, the aging of the population, and then their main argument, abortion. While reading this essay, I had difficulty with many things, first off, my emotions, followed by the overall organization.
A strong example of this would be the recent exploits at the Woodstock 99 music festival.
Through the first chapter of this book the focus was primarily on the notion of controlling crime. The best way to describe crime policy used in this chapter is comparing it to a game of ‘heads I win, tails you lose’. This chapter also addresses the causes for decline in America’s
Cohen, L. E., & Felson, M. (1979). Social change and crime rate trends: A routine activity approach. American Sociological Review, 44(4), 588–608. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/2094589
Levitt, S. D. (2004). Understanding why crime fell in the 1990s: Four factors that explain the
Cohen, L. E. & Felson, M. (1979). “Social change and crime rate trends: A routine activities approach,” American Sociological Review 44:588-608.
In recent years, more and more people have become aware of crime and murder. It is something that has affected them, their families and neighborhoods. Just about everyone in the world knows someone who has become a victim of murder, rape, and or robbery. In most cases the suspects are heartless and have no remorse in regards to the crime they committed. Some individuals are repeat offenders who have received a slap on the wrist from the justice system or only faced small jail time. A recent report by the Senate judiciary Committee, called America the "most violent and self-destructive nation on earth", and it was noted that violent crime in America had increased by 516% since 1960 (Economist, 1992). Many individuals have tried to come up with solutions and scare tactics attempting to deter those who commit crime. It appears that solutions are failing.
rise in crime for both eras show a strong relationship. There is also a tendency for an
9. Sherman L., Gottfredson D., MacKenzie D., Eck J., Reuter P., Bushway S. Preventing Crime: What Works, What Doesn't, What's Promising. A Report to the United States Congress. College Park, MD: University of Maryland, Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice, 1997.
Then all of a sudden, instead of going up and up and up, the crime rate began to fall. And fall and fall and fall some more. The crime drop was startling in several respects. It was ubiquitous, with every category of crime in every part of the country. It was persistent, with incremental decreases year after year. And it was entirely unanticipated, especially because the public had been anticipating the opposite...
Many factors may have led to the decrease in crime, but there are five very plausible explanatory factors as causal to the crime decline. The first is the demographic change, specifically referring to the changing composition of the population (Rosenfeld, 2011). Crime is a young mans game, and the aging of the baby boom generation is an important factor behind the drop, because older populations generally commit fewer crimes (Rosenfeld, 2011).
The three eras that have characterized the field of criminology over the past 100 years are the “Golden Age of Research,” the “Golden Age of Theory,” and an unnamed era that was “’characterized by extensive theory testing of the dominant theories, using largely empirical methods’” (28). The “Golden Age of Research” era spanned from 1900 to 1930 according to John H. Laub. This era is identified as focusing heavily on the collection of data surrounding crime and the criminal. This data was assessed without “any particular ideational framework” (28). The second era, the “Golden Age of Theory,” spanned from 1930 to 1960, also according to Laub. This era is also rather self-explanatory, it is described by the development of theories; however, Laub
All across the nation during the Great Depression people were jobless, homeless, and starving; nowhere was this truer than in the American Midwest. Not only did the farms and cities of the Midwest have to deal with the poor economic conditions but the Midwest's main source of income, agriculture, was being ravaged by the natural phenomenon now called the Dust Bowl. On top of low crop prices and a lack of employment farmland was ruined, went unplanted, and was often foreclosed on. These extra difficulties left the inhabitants of the Midwest with added resentments and frustration with businesses and government that seemed unable or unwilling to help. Out of this extreme hardship came a group of people who for many different reasons chose to make their own rules and live outside the law. These gangsters' exploits seemed to have been focused in Middle America from as far as Minnesota and Wisconsin to Texas and Louisiana. The Midwestern crime wave, which captivated a disenchanted public, involved brazen but personable gangsters who shot and robbed their way across country.
The U.S. Department of Labor (2011) reported the national average of unemployment for 2008 was 5.8 percent. The rate dramatically increased in 2009 with an average of 9.3 percent and 9.6 percent for 2010. While unemployment rates have increased, the FBI’s preliminary reports for 2010 show that law enforcement agencies across the U.S. have reported a decrease of 6.2 percent in the number of violent crimes for the first 6 months of 2010 when compared to figures reported for the same time in 2009. The violent crime category includes rape, murder, robbery, and aggravated result. The number of property crimes also decreased 2.8 percent when compared to the same time last year. Property crimes include burglary, larceny-theft, and motor vehicle theft. Arson decreased 14.6 percent when compared to the same time periods of 2009 (FBI, 2011).