posted on September 13, 2004 06:06:13 PM new
2003 Crime Rate Steady at 30-Year Low
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Sep 12, 4:39 PM (ET)
By CURT ANDERSON
WASHINGTON (AP) - The nation's crime rate last year held steady at the lowest levels since the government began surveying crime victims in 1973, the Justice Department reported Sunday.
The study was the latest contribution to a decade-long trend in which violent crime as measured by victim surveys has fallen by 55 percent and property crime by 49 percent. That has included a 14 percent drop in violent crime from 2000-2001 to 2002-2003.
"The rates are the lowest experienced in the last 30 years," Justice Department statistician Shannan Catalona said in the report. "Crime rates have stabilized."
The 2003 violent crime rate - assault, sexual assault and armed robbery - stood at 22.6 victims for every 1,000 people age 12 and older. That amounts to about one violent crime victim for every 44 U.S. residents.
By comparison, there were 23 violent crime victims per 1,000 people in 2002. In 1993, the violent crime rate was 50 per 1,000 people, or about one in every 20 people.
Murder is not counted because the Bureau of Justice Statistics study is based on statements by crime victims. In a separate report based on preliminary police data, the FBI found a 1.3 percent increase in murders between 2002 and 2003 - from 16,200 to about 16,420.
The new survey put the rate for property crimes of burglary, theft and motor vehicle theft in 2003 at 163 for every 1,000 people, compared with 159 the year before. The slight increase was not considered statistically significant.
A decade ago, there were about 319 property crimes per 1,000 people, the study said.
There are numerous possible explanations for the sharp, sustained decrease in crime. But experts say the fact that crime rates have leveled off confounds earlier studies that attributed it to such things as a more mature, less violent drug trade or police tactics that focus on high-crime areas.
James Lynch, professor at American University's Department of Justice, Law and Society, said the reason that crime is down so broadly is difficult to pinpoint.
Two recent possibilities, he said, are a prison population at a record 2.1 million and the terrorism fight's deterrent effect on more routine street crime.
"Some of the mobilization for terrorism issues may have put a damper on crime," Lynch said. "It has a chilling effect on a whole lot of stuff."
The low crime rate also has made the problem much less of an issue in national political campaigns. It is almost never mentioned in campaign speeches by President Bush or Democrat John Kerry, and fewer people than in past years now list crime as a top concern in opinion polls.
The National Crime Victimization Survey is based on annual interviews by Census Bureau personnel with about 150,000 people at least 12-years-old. The FBI does a separate crime study based on reports it receives from thousands of law enforcement agencies nationwide.
Other highlights of the Justice Department report:
_In 2003, one-quarter of all violent crimes were committed by an offender armed with a gun, knife or other weapon.
_Violent crime rate has dropped in every income category by at least 40 percent between 1993 and 2003.
_Property crimes tended to occur more often in 2003 in the West (207 crimes per 1,000 households), among people who rent rather than own (206 crimes vs. 143 crimes per 1,000) and in urban areas (216 crimes per 1,000) rather than suburban or rural areas (145 and 137 per 1,000, respectively).
_Men were more often crime victims in 2003 than women, except sexual assaults. About 29 blacks per 1,000 were crime victims, compared with 21.5 per 1,000 whites and 16 per 1,000 all others. Crime victims were more often 24 years old or less.
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On the Net:
Bureau of Justice Statistics: http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs
posted on September 13, 2004 09:06:11 PM new
Your article says crime is down because there are record numbers of people in jail. During the Clinton Presidency, your article shows how the numbers kept falling for his 8 years. So, is crime low because of Clinton or Bush?
posted on September 13, 2004 10:17:24 PM new
As hope and salaries amongst the populace goes down crime goes up..I expect to see a rise in the crime rate soon.
posted on September 14, 2004 02:16:26 AM new
I know the crime rate is rising here. Gang fights, bank robberies and petty theft are on the rise.
The national crime rate is not down because of Bush. Give us a break, bear. Your stretching.
Cheryl
. . .if you still try to defend the infamies and horrors perpetrated by that Antichrist- I really believe he is Antichrist- I will have nothing more to do with you and you are no longer my friend.. . - War and Peace, Tolstoy
posted on September 14, 2004 04:57:16 AM new
Bear talks about crime. Ha Ha. Under Bush CHENEY we all had Haliburton (sp). A company like that does more damage to America than thousands upon thousands of petty thieves.
posted on September 14, 2004 06:00:58 AM new
LOL isn't funny bear that they won't allow clinton to be blamed for anything that is going on right now, except for lowering the crime rate.... is that all he did during his eight years? How about letting bin laden off twice!
Crime is low because actually more people a re getting involved and reporting crime, also video recorders are making it harder on criminals and DNA testing.... hard to say it wasn't you...
But President Bush is keeping this alive on his watch... but then even when you are shown a good thing from his presidency your hatred doesn't allow you to see.
posted on September 14, 2004 11:57:05 AM new
twelve says,
Crime is low because actually more people a re getting involved and reporting crime,
I think what you are trying to say is that,
Crime is low because more people are getting re-invloved and reporting crime
But, your statement doesn't make any real sense. How would crime be low if people are reporting it. When crime rates are on the rise, it means that there are more reports of crime. When crime rates fall, it is sometimes related to the lack of reporting of crime.
Bear,
I think the reason might be that Pat Robertson prayed for all criminals to stay home. It has nothing to do with the dope.
Bigots are miserable people. Prevent Bigotry through Education.
posted on September 14, 2004 12:21:11 PM new
Bear & Twelve, you two are out of it today - how on earth can Bush be responsible for lowering the crime rate when he wasn't even President? What you CAN give Bush credit for is killing 1000+ of your soldiers and 1000's of innocent people in foreign countries on a whim - he alone is responsible for that. Are those numbers included in the lowered crime rate?
posted on September 14, 2004 12:39:15 PM newWhat you CAN give Bush credit for is killing 1000+ of your soldiers and 1000's of innocent people in foreign countries on a whim - he alone is responsible for that. Are those numbers included in the lowered crime rate?
Another thing that is not included in the numbers are the 3,000 plus people that were murdered in September 2001.
DICK CHENEY SUPPORTS MY RELATIONSHIP: People ought to be free to enter into any kind of relationship they want to
Let's have a BBQ, Texas style, ROAST BUSH
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YOU CAN'T HAVE BULLSH** WITH OUT BUSH.
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Prevent Bigotry through Education.