Everyone can agree that the past few years have been tough. Americans are financially stressed like never before. People have lost their jobs; their nest eggs, and in some cases their homes. There is however, a silver lining that has come with the recession. While it is definitely unexpected, it is a welcome change.
According to the FBI, crime has been on a steady decrease since 2007. All categories of crime have decreased, including a 5.3% drop in violent crimes, and a substantial 7.2% decrease for murders. Property crimes showed a 4.6% decrease (for the 7th year in a row).
This positive report flies in the face of the general perception that as poverty rises, the crime rate increases as well. Last October, the jobless rate in the country rose to 10.2%, which is the highest rate reported in 26 years. Despite this, crime levels are down to their lowest levels since the 1960s. So what gives?
Experts have their own theories as to why this is happening. One argument is that the economic stimulus measures and the extension of unemployment benefits have caused a delay in some of the major economic blows that people would have otherwise experienced. The question then becomes, what will happen when those benefits run out?
Perhaps these results are due to the simple fact that people are staying close to home for economic reasons. Thieves would find it more difficult to burglarize a home when its residents never leave for work. Our aging population could be coming into play as well; older people just don’t tend to commit crimes.
Could our long held beliefs about the correlation between crime and poverty be wrong? Maybe this shows that if a law abiding American loses their job, they are not going to go out and rob a bank. Perhaps we are more resilient and resourceful than we give ourselves credit for.