The recession is dealing body blows to the rationale of many great society programs, that poverty leads to crime. First, there was the unmasking of a large part of the most affluent part of the country, its financial elites, as little better than a criminal class. Now, comes news that crime rates are down as the recession continues.
The Washington Exmainer reports:
“Editors across the country ginned up “recession leads to crime” stories, but the numbers never appeared. In the first six months of last year, murder rates dropped 10 percent, violent crime dropped 4 percent and property crime dropped 6 percent.
“While the reasons are up for debate ([Heather] Mac Donald credits better policing and more prison sentences, others credit an aging population or other demographic trends) the animating argument for so much of the Great Society and programs subsequently brewed up from its husks has taken a mortal blow.
“Public safety is the precondition for thriving urban life. In 1990s New York, crime did not drop because the economy improved; rather, the city’s economy revived because crime was cut in half.”
And, of course, the GWOT (Global War on Terror) news item du jour also confirms this perception. The CIA double agent-turned terrorist was no child of poverty but a flower of the upper middle class – a doctor.
google : gun sales 2009
maybe it’s getting more dangerous for criminals.
after all, they would know……….
Its juking the stats my cop friends say. Less admin staff, less budget and well less care in tracking stats. Less cops and people report fewer crimes. Do you believe the economic stats? You lived in Blatimore do you belive anything city government says? It may be that indeed people are better armed and thus perception that crime costs. People may have less money for drugs and or going out and thus stay at home more. Who knows is the best way to look at this. Recall in NYC crime rates dropped becuase people just locked themselves at home and thus were not out and about as targets. Overdtermined phenomenon like crime need to be looked at carefully and lets not fall into a narrative fallacy–may be calm before storm or indicator of very bad things…..
true — it also depends on the type of crime..and many say crime will rise when things get bad..
But it certainly argues against a simple one to one correspondence..
more poverty, more crime
Here we go… the chicken and the egg. Which came first???
——“Public safety is the precondition for thriving urban life. In 1990s New York, crime did not drop because the economy improved; rather, the city’s economy revived because crime was cut in half.”——-
I read somewhere, I forget where, that the poorer people are, the nicer they are to each other.
I think they were talking about the starving in Ethiopia during the famine many years ago.
Maybe it’s the increase in personal protection like “r” says. Maybe we’re just figuring out who the enemy really is and we’re all in this together. Are we cutting new ground here, or, is it the same ole-same old with a different face.
Something’s dieing and something’s going to be born. I’ve never been so frightened and excited all at the same time in my whole life.