According to the newest FBI report crime dropped about 4.4% during the first half of 2009. That is one positive that has come this year. Included in the decrease in crime across the nation was a somewhat dramatic 10% drop in murders.
In recent years the increase in crime was related to gang violence. According to the FBI with more strategic placement of police officers and more gang members off the street a downturn should have been expected.
According to Professor James Alan Fox, a criminologist at Northwestern University:
“Police certainly are much more strategic,” Fox said. “But also we continue to put large numbers of people in prison for long periods of time…and the nation continues to age.” The segment of the population over age 50 is the fastest growing, according to Fox, and that group tends to commit fewer crimes.
The bottomline seems to be that the decrease in crime is somehow correlated to getting too old to commit a crime or being in jail for a longer period of time. Maybe there is a third good reason. With the economy in the tank fewer criminals can afford bullets or weapons. Of course, there were three murders in Chattanooga within the past 24 hours making the decrease in crime seem somewhat distant today.
Whatever the cause, it is nice to get a bit of good news in 2009.
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