US Crime Rates
The Good News and the Bad News
If we were to tell you that the crime rate for certain types of crime was dropping in some areas, you might think “Great, now I can relax a bit.” That would be a mistake. The truth is that despite an apparent dip in the crime rate over the past few years, crime is higher now than it was in the mid 1980s and for those of you over the age of 25, you'll remember it was no picnic then.
The FBI compiles arrest statistics to create an annual crime index to show the rate of burglaries, assaults, robberies, murders, rapes, and thefts. While Criminologists and Sociologists alike may not always agree on crime statistics, the fact is crime rates for a wide variety of physical crime (as opposed to ‘white collar' crime) are higher in the new millennium than they were in the 1980s. Most knowledgeable people with access to true statistics believe and fear that ANY downward trend in the crime rates today will be followed by an inevitable increase in the near future. It's just common sense; many things in life happen in cycles and crime is certainly no exception. You've heard the terms ‘crime spree' and ‘crime wave' so you know this to be true.
The Dean of Boston's renowned College of Criminal Justice at Northeastern University , James Alan Fox, feels that we are merely experiencing a lull before the next major crime storm. An unusual dip in the birth rate of male babies born in the 80s and 90s means there are fewer young adult males over the age of 14 and under 25, to commit crime. In that they are statistically the most likely group to commit physical crimes such as burglaries, rape, assaults and even murder, it follows that this factor represents a reason for the slight dip in crime rates we are presently seeing.
The worst part is that even though the crime rate may have experienced a temporary decrease in number, there has been a concurrent increase in the level of violence and maliciousness of crimes as compared to previous generations. The general consensus is that once we pass this ‘rest period', crime will be back with a vengeance. Do you want to be caught without some form of personal protection both now and when the inevitable happens or will you take action to protect yourself and your family from this threat, with a commitment to buy pepper spray and/or stun guns for personal safety.
One professor from Princeton University , John J. Di-Iulio Jr., feels the increase in the viciousness of crime is more than a passing coincidence. He argues that as boys coming of age now, reach their crime-prone teen years we will see an unprecedented explosion in the crime rate. He goes on to explain that moral decay from growing up in a society that seems to condone divorce, spousal abuse, pornography, discrimination, poverty, joblessness and a numbing of the soul from unrelenting violence on television, are just some of the reasons we need to brace ourselves for a return of the crime rate to previous highs and beyond.
Are all teenage boys bad? Of course not, but it only takes a few to ruin it for all of them. Are young adult males the only group to fear? Absolutely not!! There is always the habitual criminal, the drug addict, the hopelessly unemployed that have fallen out of ‘the system' and don't forget young women as well. Shocking as it may be, there is evidence to show that violence by young women is the fastest growing sector of the population adding to the crime statistics in modern society.
Most frightening of all is a new trend in sociopathic behavior. Several prominent social psychologists are now studying the rise of the “superpredator”. It seems a logical conclusion that some of the worst neighborhoods are actually breeding a new generation of fearless, hardened, skilled criminals that know how to ‘play the game' with our soft and forgiving criminal justice system. They know what they can get away with and they push the limits as underage punks, while they learn the ropes with little or no fear of being punished in any meaningful way. They are characterized by a new level of cunning and violence that is typically 3 times that of ‘normal' criminals of the past.
Once having ‘graduated' from their neighborhood ‘crime school', they are now free to roam the streets with their ‘diploma in crime' and seek opportunities with unsuspecting victims that are blissfully unaware of this frightening new breed. Worse yet, they are actually ‘exporting' their ‘skills' to the nice neighborhoods where opportunities to ply their ‘trade' abound.
The only way to combat this unprecedented threat is to take personal responsibility for the safety of yourself, your family and your friends. This is most effectively done by arming your loved ones with either or both pepper spray and stun guns. You may want to consider gaining a strategic advantage over potential attackers by using pepper spray products and stun guns disguised as commonly carried personal items like walking weights, pagers or cell phones.
The debate over crime rates and the motivation of criminals rages on. While the pundits figure it all out, each of us needs to take whatever action is necessary to protect ourselves. Modern lifestyles allow us to keep in touch by telephone or instant messaging but it also means that loved ones are often out of sight and out of physical contact. We are simply unable to protect them like we used to so we need to rely on new methods like personal pepper spray and stun guns to keep our families safe.
For the next birthday, graduation or just because you love them, may we suggest giving the gift of personal safety. Remember, it not only makes them feel safe, it also gives YOU the gift of peace of mind.