Are These The Reasons Violent Crime Is Down?

  During the 1980′s violent crimes shot upward. Fear in large cities was at an all time high.  How could this be controlled?  Then came the 1990′s and serious crimes began to fall.  By 2000 the levels were the lowest in a generation.  But why did this happen?  Here are some possible reasons for controlling crime over the last 30 years:

• A Better Economy:  The boom happened during the last 10 years in our US economy.  Unemployment was down with less people turning to desperation.  But here is the scary part.  With the economy starting into a recession will violent crimes rise?
• More Prisons:  From 1985 until 2000, the inmate population rose from 750,000 to 2 million.  Tougher laws demanded prison time for crimes and especially drug offenses.  But because we locked up an extra 125,000 people won’t that have an effect on the crime rate? (Zimring, cited in Witkin, 1998:31)
• The Declining Drug Trade:  The crack down on crack cocaine was a huge factor in reducing violent crimes.  As 1985 came along crack cocaine spread with young people and violent crimes arose especially in inner cities.  As the crack down became concentrated on crack violent crimes declined.
• A Reduction In The Youth Population:  As everyone knows most violent crimes are being committed by young males.  But between 1990 and 2000 the share of population age 15 to 24 dropped by 5 percent.  This caused by the legalization of abortion in 1973.  Did this cause the drop in violent crimes?
• Changes In Policing:  Murders in large cities dropped especially in NYC where the number of murders fell from 2245 in 1990 to just 673 in 2000.  IN NYC the adopted policy of community policing, which means that police are concerned not just with making arrests but with preventing crime before it happens, has caused a dramatic drop in violent crimes.  In the 1990′s Los Angeles added more the 2000 police offices.  They to have seen violent crime fall.

Remember that the current crime rate is much better then it was a decade ago.  But with the fallen economy will these other factors help keep the crime rate down?