May 24, 2011

Steady Decline in Major Crime Baffles Experts

The NYT reports:
The number of violent crimes in the United States dropped significantly last year, to what appeared to be the lowest rate in nearly 40 years, a development that was considered puzzling partly because it ran counter to the prevailing expectation that crime would increase during a recession
There was no immediate consensus to explain the drop. But some experts said the figures collided with theories about correlations between crime, unemployment and the number of people in prison. 
Probably the recession has also reduced alcohol consumption (and even guns availability), which are two factors positively correlated with violent crime.

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