Ten Scary Facts About Rising Violent Crime in America
Many Americans are already painfully aware that violent crime is experiencing a massive upsurge in the United States. As the U.S. economy has tanked and as unemployment has skyrocketed, many Americans have found themselves becoming increasingly desperate. Hard economic times usually lead to an increase in crime, but what is happening across the U.S. now is absolutely stunning. In economically-troubled areas such as Detroit crime statistics are climbing into the stratosphere. In fact, there are many communities in the United States where it is simply not safe to go out at night anymore. Millions of Americans find themselves prisoners in their own homes as they lock themselves in their houses in an attempt to keep the crime out. The truth is that it is really hard to live the American Dream when there is a raging crime wave going on right outside your door. The truly frightening thing is that crime is almost certainly going to get even worse as economic conditions continue to deteriorate.
The following are ten facts about crime in the United States that will blow your mind….
#1) The city of Detroit, Michigan literally looks like a war zone and violent crime is thriving. So far this year in Detroit, car thefts are up 83%, robberies are up 50%, burglaries are up 20% and property destruction is up 42%.
#2) Lawmakers in Illinois say that violence has become so rampant in Chicago that the National Guard needs to be sent in. In just one night last week seven people were killed and 18 were wounded – mostly by gunfire. In fact, there have already been 113 murders in Chicago this year.
#3) The city of Phoenix, Arizona has become the car theft capital of the world as millions of illegal aliens who can’t get work have found that stealing cars can be very profitable indeed.
#4) There are approximately 12 million crimes committed in the United States every single year. That is by far the worst in the world. No other nation has more than about 6 million reported crimes per year.
#5) In New York City, the number of homicides in the first quarter of the year had shot up by approximately 22 percent compared with 2009.
#6) U.S. prisons are already bursting at the seams. As you read this, there are over 2.2 million people in prison in the United States. In fact, America leads the world in the number of prisoners and in the percentage of the population in prison. The United States has 5% of the world’s population, but 25% of the world’s incarcerated population.
#7) U.S. law enforcement authorities claim that there are now over 1 million members of criminal gangs inside the country. These 1 million gang members are responsible for up to 80% of the crimes committed in the United States each year.
#8) There are over 100,000 rapes in the United States every single year. That is the highest number for any of the countries in the United Nations.
#9) According to USA Today, 58% of state and local law enforcement agencies in the United States reported that violent criminal gangs were active in their areas in 2008. That was up from 45% in 2004.
#10) Every year, one out of every five people is a victim of a crime in the United States. No other nation on earth has a rate that is higher.
Source: End of the American Dream
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“…millions of illegal aliens who can’t get work have found that stealing cars can be very profitable indeed.”
I don’t think ‘illegal aliens who can’t find work’ are the only ones stealing cars (or committing other crimes) in Phoenix.
Agreed!!
Well you know what they say, “An armed society is a polite society.” But like communism, it just doesn’t work in practice.
I expect it depends on one’s definition of “polite.” 🙂
….and you guys have got guns.
Oh dear. You really are in the shit then?
You would be amazed at how many people actually carry guns in the U.S. It is probably a lot less than one would think for all the noise we make.
This is why every single adult should be packing heat. There would be a lot less crime if we all just periodically fired our guns in the air.
Curiously there is no link between gun ownership, including concealed carry, and crime statistics.
MadMike, you are absolutely wrong. The UK has had a gun ban for the past 15 years, and their violent crime rate is 2,034 per 100,000 citizens. However, if you look at the United States, we have had an upsurge in the purchase of guns, and our violent crime rate is continuing to go DOWN, not up. The United States rate is 466 per 100,000 citizens. Which is SIGNIFICANTLY lower than countries such as the UK who have gun bans. Here is the FBI violent crime statistics data table that shows our violent crime rate has gone down: http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/crime-in-the-u.s/2011/crime-in-the-u.s.-2011/violent-crime/violent-crime. Also, Detroit does not ‘literally’ look like a war zone? Have your ever been to Detroit? I live near there, and have been there several times. I have friends that live in Detroit, and have visited them, and gone shopping there, and nothing ever happened to me. There are very dangerous parts of that city, that nobody should step foot in, but there are also parts that are fine to visit. To claim that all of Detroit is a literal war zone is absurd.
Crime goes up during economic hard time which is a sad state of affairs. I’m with Infidel on the incarceration rate, especially in State Pens., too many people are serving long sentences in one State, which would be a fine in another.
I agree Holte. The ridiculous sentencing guidelines which restrict judicial discretion in some jurisdictions are self-defeating as is the Three Strikes law.
About #4 and #8, comparing absolute numbers doesn’t tell you much. The US also has a bigger population than any other country except China and India. What are the per capita rates of serious crimes? I’m pretty sure South Africa has the highest per capita rape rate, for example.
Also, a lot of countries probably don’t collect statistics as thoroughly as we do, and reporting rates are probably lower in places where the police are less likely to take action.
As for #6, this is largely because we give people ridiculously long sentences for things like marijuana possession. Decriminalize drugs and there would be plenty of prison space for actual criminals.
Agreed on every point however our crimes are not always reported either. On the contrary, crimes are notoriously under-reported. The two major clearinghouses for crime data are the Uniform Crime Reports (UCR) and the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS). In both cases law enforcement is not required to report crimes, especially if they are not receiving or looking for federal funding. This is common in rural communities. In addition, a significant number of people are afraid to report when they are victimized, as a result our numbers are also depressed.
Do you think it’s more than the economy Mike? Gee. I know where I live, it’s gone up badly. The police helicopters are over my home at night way too often. Scary.
There are several issues that drive crime Gwen, with age and the economy being the top two. We are entering a new generation of teenage terrors. Add that to unemployment, and a generally depressed economy and you have trouble.