Are Crimes In The US Really Running Rife?
Crime is something that’s always on our minds. Hearing about it can make us feel unsafe in our community. Having to think about it is very common when it comes to what we see on the media – news reports on the TV, articles on the internet, modern video games etc., all have a very common crime theme that is hard to avoid. And it’s something we can gossip about for hours on end!
And because of this, we can often inflate just how much crime affects the common citizen. The public perception of how many criminal offenses go on around us, compared to how many actually happen, is rather flawed, and this perception can have serious repercussions for many innocent parties.
So with that in mind, let’s examine whether or not crime really is running rife in the United States in the modern day and age.
We hear a lot, but does crime really happen a lot?
Crime Rates Have Fallen
And in recent years, they’re the lowest they ever have been. Crime rates are always going to be widely debated, and there’s always going to be a lot of discourse around just how much these rates have gone down, but both of the main surveys agree they’re dropping at a steady rate.
At the last full count 2 years ago, there was a crime rate drop of at least 40%, and in 2017, the FBI reported that all kinds of crime (i.e. violent crimes and property crimes) dropped between 0.5% and 3%. These are considerable stats to change in just one year, and show just how much public concern is being taken up over issues that either aren’t occuring, or aren’t as impactful as first thought.
Sure, not all crimes are reported, and not all kinds of crime are included in these kinds of reports. But there’s always truth to numbers like these, and there’s always the ability to do your own research thanks to the internet. And when there’s the ability to gain policing degrees online, such as right here, it’s clear we have more access to information such as crime rates, and resources to help put a further stop to it.
Too Many People are in Prison
It was reported back in 2012 that at least 1.2 million people had been imprisoned after being arrested in the years proceeding. In 2018, this number has risen to about 2.3 million, which is a startlingly high number to consider. The United States has been found to lock up more people per capita than any other nation in the world, which is a problem that needs addressing in the modern day and age.
Because of stats like this, more and more judicial practices are being put into effect. Fines, probation programs, community service etc., are all becoming more and more popular. And with such overcrowded prisons, this can only be seen as a good thing.
Crime in the US isn’t as rife as you might think.