Leading theories as to why US crime rate is falling

Good article, and the comments are also worth a look. My 2 favorite theories: Video Games Keep Young Men Indoors and The Rise of the Dollar Store Makes Thievery Not-So-Profitable Anymore. Who would have thought? ;-)

Here's my two cents' worth: lots of kids are diagnosed with behavioral disruptions early in elementary school. In the past, they would have been shamed and berated or just thrown out.

Also, there are entire, very interesting, fields of employment now available for young men who don't fit in with the mainstream: skateboard, surf and snowboard shops, video game stores (the neighborhood trade type), tattoo parlors in every small town, manga/anime venues, even stores at "the mall" who want to hire disaffected-looking punks with attitude. In my younger days, boys like that had zero job opportunities.

Sorry I just outed you as a disaffected youth, Kimono ;-)

I think a healthy portion of it can be attributed to stat juking. If you can reclassify something so that it is a lesser crime or not a crime at all, your stats go down, and as far as federal funding and news articles go, crime must have gone down.

I do not really trust numbers that are generally supplied by people who's livelihood and agenda's are tied to the numbers. Felonies become misdemeanors, misdemeanor's can be persuaded to be dropped...

One of my favorite sayings is "Torture numbers long enough and they will tell you anything you want to hear."

Rather then "dissecting" what numbers are generated by the bureaucracies I know what is going on in my neighborhood and around the area I live in. I know how bad it has become in areas I used to live around by the University. Anyone care to walk around Perth Street late at night?

That said... things were not all roses back in the 80's either and I recognize that as well. Drugs were really affecting communities. Our house was robbed three times in the 80's by neighborhood kids who were into drugs.

"There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies and statistics."
- Mark Twain

I think the "ageing out" argument has some merit. It's tougher committing a crime if you need bifocals, your hearing isn't what it used to be and your arthritic knees wont let you run very far. The baby boomers have to stick to pencil and paper white coller crime, not sticking a Saturday night special in some convenience store clerk's face.

Maybe drug treatment programs are really working. Most addicts eventually steal to support their habit.

"Anyone care to walk around Perth Street late at night?"

That was a nice area back in the 60s and 70s. Perth Street, Evansdale, was a family oriented neighborhood with strong ties. Sad how it's fallen.

"I think the "ageing out" argument has some merit. It's tougher committing a crime if you need bifocals, your hearing isn't what it used to be and your arthritic knees wont let you run very far."

Makes sense to me, Holland. Monclova and Springfield townships are getting hit quite a bit with breaking and entering, burglaries, etc. for a while. Mostly juveniles. Crime tends to increase once school is out, most law enforcement will tell you.

End the War on Drugs and stop clogging up our justice system with yuppies, poor folk, and the in between for 35 dollars worth of pot and maybe we would not have to let murders, rapist, and sex offenders out on early release due to over population.

Just talked to a friend who's brother was busted for 500 dollars worth of Afghan pot smuggled back from The Sandbox. Fought for his country, took shrapnel to the side, Fight for your country but don't you dare sit in your basement and eat ho's ho's while you watch the Smurfs.

Leave our cops to fight real crime.

http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2011/06/ron-paul-bill-would-end-federal-war-on-marijuana/240899/

This bill will fail but it will put fake conservatives on the record and make the Liberals stand behind their campaign speeches.

And thank you Barney Frank... (I think I just vomited in my mouth)

Hold on just a second on those aging babyboomer remarks. I wear bifocals, almost 60 yrs of age and I am almost legally blind without the specs. I also have enough nuts,bolts and titanium rods in my body to buils a space shuttle. In spite of this I continue to regularly out shoot almost every young whippersnapper at the range including the active duty military kids and the cops. And I still run 2-3 miles every night. As long as I don't loose bladder control i'm just as good as I was in my younger years. Well, at least once.

Dbw - I do not smoke pot, nor have I ever. That being said I support the legalization of pot for the very reason you mentioned! It's a largely harmless drug that has many medical uses. We are choking our legal system up with people who are far from dangerous or hardened criminals. Crack, meth, etc I can totally understand sending people to REHAB for if they use...but jail? Dealers should got to jail. What does sending a user to jail instead of rehab really that do to change the problem?

What is the longest running war with the bleakest sign of "Victory"?
The war on drugs.

OK - It's been a real long time since I've smoked out, mainly due to health reason and because being a Father I can't allow my life to get jacked up for being busted with a doobie, it's just not worth it to me.

I don't care if you rot your teeth out doing meth, I care about when you come out of your house to stick me up for money for it. People of low moral fiber are probley not helped by drugs, but McDonald's extra large, large, large size value meal doesn't help people with portion control problems, where is the War on Big Macs? People with weak morals will eventually find a way to jack themselves up anyway. Trying to blame a plant for holes you have in your psychological make up is a non-starter, your a tool to begin with.

***DISCLAIMER*** Ron Paul is running for President and if don't agree with him on several levels, I understand but I just can't fathom how you can't agree with this:

Many will have the knee-jerk reaction of wanting to see more of a crackdown on illegal drugs. But I have to ask: Haven't we been cracking down on drugs for several decades only to see the black market flourish and the violence escalate? Could there be a more effective approach?

The illegality of drugs is, in fact, the Number One factor that keeps profits up for dealers and cartels, and ensures that organized crime dominates the market.

Cocaine, for example, has about a 17,000-percent markup and sells for more than gold in some areas. This is nothing new or unique to drugs, but a predictable outcome of prohibition.

http://www.cnbc.com/id/36267220/comid/2#comments_top

DBW
Unfortunately you are right. It's not the drugs themselves that are the major problem it is the laws prohibiting them. They are impossible to enforce. They are draconian in nature and like the prohibition of the 1930's they have only created a class of super criminals who will stop at nothing to sell their product. The war on drugs can never be won no more than passing an amendment to the constitution stopped consumption of liquor. Substance abuse and addiction are more rampant in this country per capita than any place on earth. It's a problem that I have to deal with on my job every day of the week. And it's absolutely a bigger drain on our national medical budget than obesity or any other two medical issues combined. The current laws only make it worse.

Wydomaker it's only a war if both sides have reasonable belief that they can win. There is no win in this war for citizens no matter how you slice it. This is oppression of peaceful will and control through legislating morality, this one even has black helicopters. If they can run rampant prohibition on a a plant that in all reality has ZERO value, what else would they kick your door down for?

It's not about standing up for "dirty pot smoking hippies" it about the principle of the matter. Peaceful people just want to be left alone to continue to be peaceful.

Who are we kidding, people smoking poke are pretty nonviolent and pose a threat to no one. Not like that's a high crime group.

"Dudeeeeeeeeee I can taste the color pink, I think its time to go get some tacooooooooooooooooooooos" - sums it up

So glad Toledo is the test bed for the Dorito Taco's at Taco Bell. They're so good.

Edit: Didn't mean to imply anything other than I like Taco's

^^ Uh huh... Sure, I bet INC.