The Washington Post is entirely befuddled by statistics showing violent crime plummeting in the US.
The District [of Columbia], New York and Los Angeles are on track for fewer killings this year than in any other year in at least four decades. Boston, San Francisco, Minneapolis and other cities are also seeing notable reductions in homicides.
“Experts did not see this coming at all,” said Andrew Karmen, a criminologist and professor of sociology at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York.
In the District and Prince George’s County, homicides are down about 17 percent this year.
Criminologists have different theories about why crime is down so much, although many agree that the common belief that crime is connected to the economy is false.
OMFG this is so mystifying! What could be causing this? Couldn’t be this, could it?
NEWTOWN, Conn. – – -(AmmoLand.com)- Data released by the FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) reported 968,145 checks in June 2009. This figure is an 18.1 percent increase from the 819,891 reported in June 2008.
This latest jump in background checks follows the release of a Rasmussen survey showing 57 percent of Americans attribute the rise in gun sales to a fear of increased government restrictions on firearms ownership.
Just to reiterate:
Article 1. In the District and Prince George’s County, homicides are down about 17 percent this year.
Article 2. This figure is an 18.1 percent increase from the 819,891 reported in June 2008.
Nah…just a coincidence! Of course, at least one police department says the possibility that a potential victim may have a weapon is an excellent deterrent.
“If you’re not sure if a guy has a gun, you may not try to do some things to him that you might otherwise try to get away with,” said Peoria police Officer Troy Skaggs, president of the Peoria Police Benevolent Union. “It’s the fear of the unknown.”
Remember, though, that crime-riddled Bristol Township could throw a monkey wrench in these statistics, offsetting the drop in crime in at least one major city.
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