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Will Recession Make Cities Dangerous Again?
ABC news ^ | Dec. 4, 2008 | Geraldine Sealey

Posted on 03/02/2009 4:32:03 PM PST by Jet Jaguar

As if we needed any reminder that times in America have changed, there is further evidence that the nearly decade-long rally of prosperity and reduced crime has ended.

We are officially in a recession, a panel of experts told us last week, after months of speculation and hundreds of thousands of layoffs. At the same time, many big cities, including Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, Boston and Pittsburgh are reporting an increase in homicides this year, potentially signaling an end to the slide in violent crime.

In Chicago as of last week, police had recorded 612 murders so far in 2001 compared to 584 in the same period last year. And in New York City in a recent four-week period, shootings were up 36.7 percent compared with the same period a year ago and murders were up 25 percent — although crime is still down about 13 percent for the year.

Even urban undesirables such as squeegee cleaners, panhandlers and illegal street vendors are appearing in greater numbers in New York these days, after dwindling during police crackdowns in recent years.

With developments like these, it would be reasonable for Americans to grow concerned that the recession is bringing a return to the urban grime and violence more common in the '70s and '80s.

But criminologists disagree about the connection between a sour economy and spikes in crime and whether aggressive policing strategies introduced in the last decade can prevent a sustained rise in crime.

"There's no iron law linking [the economy and crime]," said UCLA criminal justice professor Eric Monkkonen. "This recession could see a crime wave or could not see a crime wave. It could promote crime, but it could be 15 years from now."

Will Desperate People Turn to Crime?

(Excerpt) Read more at abcnews.go.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Crime/Corruption; Government
KEYWORDS: acorn; bho44; bluezone; cities; urban; yes
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1 posted on 03/02/2009 4:32:03 PM PST by Jet Jaguar
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To: Jet Jaguar

Again ????


2 posted on 03/02/2009 4:32:58 PM PST by clamper1797 (FUBO ... The Kenyan Lincoln)
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To: clamper1797

LOL


3 posted on 03/02/2009 4:33:28 PM PST by Jet Jaguar (Atlas Shrugged Mode: ON)
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To: Jet Jaguar
We're all Detroiters now.
4 posted on 03/02/2009 4:35:11 PM PST by VRWC For Truth (Throw the bums out who vote yes on the bail out)
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To: Jet Jaguar

At which point did they become safe ?


5 posted on 03/02/2009 4:35:34 PM PST by lucias_clay
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To: Jet Jaguar

Yes, it’s already started.


6 posted on 03/02/2009 4:36:12 PM PST by Tarpon (It's a common fact, one can't be liberal and rational at the same time.)
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To: Jet Jaguar
..."There's no iron law linking [the economy and crime]," said UCLA criminal justice professor Eric Monkkonen. "This recession could see a crime wave or could not see a crime wave. It could promote crime, but it could be 15 years from now."

Oh, this guy nails it...

7 posted on 03/02/2009 4:36:14 PM PST by SGCOS
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To: Jet Jaguar
BHO will make them just Mugabe did the cities in Zimbabwe
8 posted on 03/02/2009 4:36:19 PM PST by SandRat (Duty, Honor, Country! What else needs said?)
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To: Jet Jaguar

Waddya mean “again”?


9 posted on 03/02/2009 4:36:29 PM PST by Lurker (The avalanche has begun. The pebbles no longer have a vote.)
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To: Jet Jaguar

YES.


10 posted on 03/02/2009 4:37:07 PM PST by Republic of Texas (Socialism Always Fails)
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To: Jet Jaguar

Even urban undesirables such as squeegee cleaners, panhandlers and illegal street vendors are appearing in greater numbers in New York these days, after dwindling during police crackdowns in recent years.

thanks to bloomberg. well at least we’re cracking down on salt and plastic bags.


11 posted on 03/02/2009 4:37:29 PM PST by ari-freedom (Hail to the Dork!)
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To: Jet Jaguar

Are they gonna cut off the Katrina gravy train?


12 posted on 03/02/2009 4:37:29 PM PST by umgud (I'm really happy I wasn't aborted)
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To: Jet Jaguar; wtc911
Maybe the re-emergent goblins will cause the annoying hipster douches from Middle America (red states, STOP sending NYC your obnoxiously smug/dysfunctional children!) who are pouring into my soon to be neighborhood. It was better off as a Greek/Latino/Italian/South Asian backwater. Now, the skinny jeans and Che t-shirt wearing Nilla wafers with the Whole Foods bags (can't shop locally, can you, friggin hippy-crates), will finally have to grow some balls or go crying back to mommy and daddy.

WTC, I believe you had some excellent commentary on a similar thread a few weeks back.

13 posted on 03/02/2009 4:39:31 PM PST by Clemenza (Remember our Korean War Veterans)
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To: clamper1797
Again ????

what Geraldine Sealey means...is this crime stuff going to affect her cocktail parties?

14 posted on 03/02/2009 4:41:23 PM PST by BookmanTheJanitor
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To: VRWC For Truth

On a positive note, Detroit’s homicide rate dropped 14 percent last year. That prompted mayoral candidate Stanley Christmas to tell the Detroit News recently, “I don’t mean to be sarcastic, but there just isn’t anyone left to kill.”

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-detroit-housingjan29,0,5435392.story


15 posted on 03/02/2009 4:41:33 PM PST by jiggyboy (Ten per cent of poll respondents are either lying or insane)
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To: Jet Jaguar

Yes, and because lawlessness will increase throughout the land, people’s love/empathy will grow cold. And that, is a vicious cycle.


16 posted on 03/02/2009 4:41:40 PM PST by anniegetyourgun
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To: Jet Jaguar

No, the economy has almost nothing to do with crime. During the Great Depression, the country did not see massive crime like the inner-cities do today, because they had a moral foundation based on Biblical teachings. Poverty doesn’t cause crime; crime causes poverty.


17 posted on 03/02/2009 4:42:41 PM PST by Longhair_and_Leather (The new presidential mantra--"Obama let babies die")
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To: Jet Jaguar

There was quite a large spike in violent crime and robbery during the 1930s. J. Edgar and WWII put a stop to much of that.


18 posted on 03/02/2009 4:44:08 PM PST by Clemenza (Remember our Korean War Veterans)
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To: Jet Jaguar
In Chicago as of last week, police had recorded 612 murders so far in 2001 compared to 584 in the same period last year.

Seems that the big, liberal cities never stopped being dangerous. I realize that Chicago is huge, but 584 murders is pretty enormous as well.

19 posted on 03/02/2009 4:46:01 PM PST by meyer (The left is flooding the ship - let's quit bailing water. We are all John Galt.)
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To: BookmanTheJanitor

Let Them Eat Shrimp!


20 posted on 03/02/2009 4:46:04 PM PST by blackminorca
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