CRIME RATES FALL In the First Half of 2009 (More guns, less crime)

FBI.gov ^ | 12/21/09 | NA

[neverdem]

- View the Preliminary Crime Statistics

For the third year in a row, our Preliminary Semiannual Uniform Crime Report shows that violent crime, property crime, and arson have decreased. The latest report compares January-June 2009 figures with the same time period in 2008.

Crimes reported to our Uniform Crime Program are down collectively: violent crime overall decreased 4.4 percent, property crime is down 6.1 percent, and arson fell 8.2 percent.

Individual crimes are also decreasing across the board:

• Murder (down 10.0 percent);
• Forcible rape (down 3.3 percent);
• Robbery (down 6.5 percent);

• 

  The 2009 crime statistics are preliminary; the final report will be issued next year.

  Past full-year reports:
  2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005 | More - More About the Uniform 
  Crime Reports (Statistics)

  - Frequently Asked Questions

  Aggravated assault (down 3.2 percent);
• Burglary (down 2.5 percent);
• Larceny-theft (down 5.3 percent); and
• Motor vehicle theft (down 18.7 percent).

Other interesting highlights:

• Murder was lower in all four regions of the country, with the largest decreases in the Northeast (13.7 percent) and the West (13.3 percent).
  
• Motor vehicle thefts decreased significantly in all four regions of the country (Northeast, 19.3 percent; Midwest, 21.4 percent; South, 17.8 percent; and West, 18.2 percent).
  
• While violent crime and aggravated assault were down in cities of more than 1 million people (7.0 percent and 6.2 percent, respectively), in cities of populations between 10,000 and 24,999, violent crime rose 1.7 percent and aggravated assault rose 3.8 percent.
  
• While both metropolitan areas and non-metropolitan areas experienced decreases in violent crime and property crime in general, non-metropolitan counties saw increases in robbery (3.8 percent) and arson (1.2 percent).
  
• On a regional basis, the only uptick in any crime was a slight increase in burglaries in the South (up 0.7 percent)

Developing this national view of crime is a collective effort of the FBI and the thousands of city, university/college, county, state, tribal, and federal law enforcement agencies that submit the data to us. Participating agencies throughout the country voluntarily provide reports on crimes known to police and on persons arrested.

The data has become a source of information used widely by police administrators, government policy makers, social science researchers, the media, and others concerned about the impact of crime in our communities. We do, however, caution against drawing conclusions from our data by making direct comparisons between law enforcement agencies—valid assessments are possible ONLY with careful study and analysis of the range of unique conditions affecting each local law enforcement jurisdiction.

The FBI has been collecting crime data from our law enforcement partners since the 1930s. Over the years, the scope of the program has expanded in response to suggestions from law enforcement advisory groups or to comply with federal mandates. Today, the culmination of this national data collection is three annual publications: Crime in the United States, Hate Crime Statistics, and Law Enforcement Officers Killed and Assaulted, as well as semiannual reports like this one.

The full 2009 Crime in the U.S. report will be released later next year.

Resources:
- Press release

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[4Speed]

Ping

[Still Thinking]

More guns, less crime

Well, at least of the non-Congressional variety. :-(

[TheBattman]

You mean Clinton’s Assault Weapons ban wasn’t the life-saving miracle it was cracked up to be? The ban expires and crime goes down... hmmm...

Add to that the majority of states now have concealed carry...

Sounds like more armed citizens = SAFER society. Kind of flies in the face of the Marxists in power, now doesn’t it...!?

[thecraw]

More guns, less crime

Thanks to the official Gun Salesman of the Year, none other than Barry himself!

Give him a Nobel Prize!

/sarc

[blackminorca]

If we dont believe the unemployment numbers, do we believe this?

[southernnorthcarolina]

Seems to me that the rapid increase in incarceration rates which began in the 1980s is paying dividends:

Of course, the New York Times never quite grasped that concept. They ran several editorials complaining that the prison population was rising despite falling crime rates. Despite? Huh? It seemed never to have occurred to them that crime rates were falling because more bed guys were in jail. Not exactly rocket science, but evidently too tough a concept for some to grasp.

[southernnorthcarolina]

What i meant, of course, was "...because more bed bad guys were in jail."

When is FR going to get an edit function, anyway?

[Terpfen]

I think it’s pretty odd how vehicle theft is down the most. Criminals can’t flip the cars or spare parts as quickly in a recession?

[GoodDay]

Sounds like more armed citizens = SAFER society. Kind of flies in the face of the Marxists in power, now doesn’t it...!?

That's what I was thinking. But when I heard this news on radio, the report pointed out merely that law enforcement agencies were being more adamant in tracking down criminals...there was no mention of armed individuals perhaps being at least partly responsible for the downtick in crime. Does anyone know if NRA has chimed in on this?

[donna]

Arizona, Maricopa County 2008:

Illegal aliens down 30%.
Total felonies down 18.5%

[dangus]

B-b-b-but I thought poverty caused crime!

[neverdem]

Does anyone know if NRA has chimed in on this?

More guns, less crime: FBI reports crime rates continue to decline

Who linked the FBI press release?

[bamahead]

Libertarian ping! Click here to get added or here to be removed or post a message here!
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[stephenjohnbanker]

Less guns, MORE crime.(for those unclear on the concept)

[GOPJ]

More guns - less crime.

Criminals are hearing the cheers and happiness - every violent criminal's death is a cause for celebration.

[bigiron]

But is the more serious crime of not wearing a seatbelt dropping also? /s

[FromLori]

The Fed is a Fascist Cartel

http://www.thedailybell.com/681/Nelson-Hultberg-The-Fed-is-a-Fascist-Cartel.html

Where should this be posted or will you please post it?

[TheBattman]

Thing is - crime reliably INCREASES with financial hard-times. Yet apparently such crimes are on the fall. While law enforcement may very well be working harder, they alone couldn’t possibly account for the reported decrease.