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Although the crime reached its absolute peak in 1991, it should be noted it wasn't until about 1995-96 that it fell back down to its 1988 levels. The drop between 1995 and 2000 is astounding though. I think it's because the growing pains of the changes during the 60s had more or less finished by that point; 30 years had passed and the generation traumatized by them had grown up.
So the high crime rate from 1971-1999 was a collaborative effort by the Baby Boomers(born roughly from 1945 to 1960) and Generation X(born roughly from 1965 to 1980)? Makes sense.
The biggest reason is that suburbanization and white flight caused inner cities to become a lot more dangerous.
During the late 1960s and early 70s the middle and upper classes fled the inner cities for the suburbs and outer neighborhoods, leaving primarily poor minorities and immigrants. The inner cities became disinvested and dilapidated in the 1970s and only got worse in the 80s - in many inner cities there was no money, extreme poverty, and run down infrastructure during that time. Crime shot through the roof as drugs (e.g. the Crack epidemic) and violence took over and the middle and upper classes hid in their suburbs. There was some gentrification occuring during that time but it was on a much smaller scale. In many cities downtowns were places to avoid during those years and became unchecked hotbeds of criminal activity, while suburbs were actually very safe. (As an example, compare crime rates in Times Square between 1985 and 2005)
The larger scale gentrification and reinvestment in inner cities that occurred during the 90s and 2000s (and again now) has led to dramatically lower crime rates in inner cities, although we are seeing an uptick in suburban crime in many areas as poor people are forced out of the cities. However, the decentralized, car-oriented nature of most suburbs makes them much less likely to become concentrated hotspots of criminal activity the way many inner cities were in the 70s and 80s.
Yeah, crime is up in the suburbs. The creation of the "Suburban Ghetto" and "Inner Suburbs" really took off in the 90's, and now we're seeing the manifestations of it. The inner city is expensive, and the burbs are getting cheaper. There's so many "inner burbs" now with crime, drugs, and gangs. Poor Blacks are getting shipped out of cities like Atlanta, and DC. I heard those 2 in particular are getting whiter, while their burbs are getting a little darker.
I honestly believe that the internet itself is one contributing factor for a reduction in crime.
The internet is, in general, making us more introverted. We spend more time at home, alone, surfing the web for hours on end. Before the internet, people were pretty much forced to go out and socialize and engage with the outside world. This is not the case anymore. Any individual could literally spend their entire life on the internet never having to step outside.
I honestly believe that the internet itself is one contributing factor for a reduction in crime.
The internet is, in general, making us more introverted. We spend more time at home, alone, surfing the web for hours on end. Before the internet, people were pretty much forced to go out and socialize and engage with the outside world. This is not the case anymore. Any individual could literally spend their entire life on the internet never having to step outside.
You may have a point there! Sometimes on my days off from work, I'm almost on my computer all day and never step outside except to maybe go to my mailbox and get my mail!
I honestly believe that the internet itself is one contributing factor for a reduction in crime.
The internet is, in general, making us more introverted. We spend more time at home, alone, surfing the web for hours on end. Before the internet, people were pretty much forced to go out and socialize and engage with the outside world. This is not the case anymore. Any individual could literally spend their entire life on the internet never having to step outside.
Yeah and the Internet (as well as cell phones) really didn't take off until 1995 in a major way so that could explain why. When people interact/go outside less they are less likely to be victimized.
Some truth to your reply. You must believing everything that is written, which we know from the past cannot be trusted. Truth is, things are much harder and poverty is much worse. This without a doubt proves that the tougher laws did nothing but make cronies in the privatized prison business a lot richer. The real reason the crime is lowering is the minorities are evolving into a more civil means of existence. These people had been brutally suppressed for many years and would take many more for the anger to fade. Tougher laws being the reason for any good we are seeing now is simply short sided and hilarious. Thanks for the laughs!
Another hypothesis with a pretty convincing degree of evidence to support it is that lead poison from gasoline caused the spike in crime in the 70s and 80s. Read the article.
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