Contributors

Friday, June 10, 2011

Explaining the Drop

Many people are scratching their heads at the latest violent crime figures. 2010 saw a 5.5 percent drop in violent crime and a 2.8 percent drop in property crimes. Most of the experts are puzzled as nearly all of them predicted that crime levels would go up due to tough economic times. But they didn't.

So why is crime down? I suppose gun rights folks will say it's because of the loosened gun laws around the country. And so many since Barack Obama has become president. I wonder how those people who ran out to buy guns after Election Day 2008 feel now. Are they still worried that he is going to take away their guns?

Others say the crime drop is related to increased enforcement of current laws as well as local police simply doing a better job. I think it is for another reason. This is purely opinion and based on no hard evidence whatsoever but I think it's because people in this country are just too fucking lazy to commit crimes. It's as simple as apathy.

After all, Americans have their X Box and Wii. Who wants to put the effort into a crime and lose valuable Facebook time? With literally millions of texts flying back and forth between our nation's young people, perpetrating a crime would cut in to their LOLs and OMGs. Besides, they won't need the money once they get their long term record deal or NBA contract, right? Once they win American Idol, The Voice, or get that winning lottery ticket, their financial future will be set. So why risk it all and break the law?

America's soft power doesn't simply work on an international scale. Domestically, it has made us soft as well. I've talked about the downside of this with the MJG. This the upside.

People can't be bothered to put down their remote and get off the couch to do...well...anything.

4 comments:

Nikto said...

It could also be an echo of the effect noted by Donohoe and Levitt in The Impact of Legalized Abortion on Crime. They noticed that crime rates began to go down in the early 1990s and posited that it coincided with the births of fewer unwanted children due to legalized abortion.

Since this is approximately the same number of years later, it could be the result of another generation with even fewer unwanted kids.

Anonymous said...

What great slogan!

Want less crime? Kill your own children.

Anonymous said...

Hey! A gun control post!

Web hits going down?

Looks like no bites on this one...

Perhaps a post on Palin will get you into the search engines?

Good luck!

juris imprudent said...

I suppose gun rights folks will say it's because of the loosened gun laws around the country.

That would be the gun rights folks in your head, wouldn't it?

Why do you always "suppose" such stupid things? Don't you actually ever wonder about that, Mr. Self-Reflective?

"Contemplate this upon the tree of woe".