Posted on 12/21/2009 4:07:19 PM PST by TaxPayer2000
Despite recession, crime keeps falling By DEVLIN BARRETT (AP) – 1 hour ago
WASHINGTON — High unemployment. More folks on food stamps. Fewer owning their homes. Yet for all the signs of recession, something is missing: More crime.
Experts are scratching their heads over why crime has ebbed so far during this recession, making it different from other economic downturns of the past half-century. Early guesses include jobless folks at home keeping closer watch for thieves, or the American population just getting older_ and older people commit fewer crimes.
Preliminary FBI crime figures for the first half of 2009 show crime falling across the country, even at a time of high unemployment, foreclosures and layoffs. Most surprisingly, murder and manslaughter fell 10 percent for the first half of the year.
"That's a remarkable decline, given the economic conditions," said Richard Rosenfeld, a sociologist at the University of Missouri-St. Louis who has studied crime trends.
Rosenfeld said he did not expect the 10 percent drop in killings to be sustained over the entire year, as more data is reported. But he said the broad declines are exceptional, given that past recessions stretching back to the 1950's have boosted crime rates.
Bill Bratton, the former chief of the Los Angeles Police Department, said the decrease comes from major police departments closely tracking developing crime patterns.
"Police have gotten much better at analyzing numbers and responding quickly," said Bratton, now chairman of Altegrity Security Consulting, a private security firm based in Virginia. "Los Angeles has been in an economic downturn almost two years ahead of the country and is now in its eighth straight year of crime decline."
In times of recession, property crimes, in particular, are expected to rise.
They haven't.
(Excerpt) Read more at google.com ...
I agree, many potential thugs are still scamming the system. Once that comes to halt and it will. Watch out
Many illegal aliens have gone home to the turd world hell holes they came from have helped drop the crime rate
Local Pols know how to game the system and not report crimes as crimes.
http://www.bloghouston.net/item/7072
It’s the faction of illegal aliens — lots of them have gone back to Mexico.
How many illegals have returned to Mexico and Central America?
Naturally, they never mention the increased levels of CCW and gun ownership being factors.
If the leftist bean counters in the FBI intentionally made Bush look bad in 2008, then a return to regular accounting of crimes in 2009 would lead to a decline.
I suspect these numbers are politically motivated. There must be other State sources to compare against the FBI numbers.
After Climategate—no numbers can be trusted.
That or all the gun purchases in the past 18 months are also working to deter crime.
Kids today are too lazy to steal!
Seriously, it is true in many border states which has dropped crime big time. I think more gun owners have helped too.
....its hilarious in Phoenix to hear liberal city officials and media question why crime is down. None will admit Sheriff Joe has chased many illegals out of town, but none of the libs want to admit it.
Yeah. Now that you mention it....
what a coinkydence.
And the poor criminals affected by the recession have to think about the continually rising proliferation of guns in houses and in waistbands. Those newspapers that self-righteously publish the lists of CCW holders with their addresses actually promote caution among the B&E crowd. It not only tells which houses to specifically avoid but it indicates neighborhoods that probably have more guns in more houses than are on the CCW lists.
Crips can’t afford the bullets?
A weird statement. If a law-abiding citizen loses his (or her, if you must) job, not a single one of his multiple personalities goes on a crime spree?
If any of your multiple personalities gives in to the temptation to commit a crime, you (whoever you are right now) are not a law-abiding citizen?
Speaking of that, our area has seen a rise of robberies.
Actually, here in Colorado, the incidence of robberies of marijuana "dispensaries" has really been picking up. That, and the fact that we seem to be having bank robberies several times a week and the black on white hate attacks in Denver have also been rising makes me think that this report is bs.
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