Reasons?
1. The homies know that many more people are armed.
2. Fewer illegals.
3. Big city police departments more or less as a matter of course are lying about crime statistics by not including crimes or reclassifying them.
All of these things are contributing
When they got to within approximately 20ft she turned and confronted them, shifting her bags and clutching her holster purse in a way she has practiced many times. She did not display her weapon, but they got the message from her defensive stance and bold words that this 100 pound grandma was not the ideal victim after all. Thugs know the kind of confidence she displayed has got something to back it up. Retreating was a very wise choice; my wife comes from a military family and acts without hesitation. If the gun had come out, it would have been firing.
We live near Seattle; my wife has a bunch of liberal friends. At one time it may have been a stigma to tell them that you carry a gun but now they all want to see them and find out more. She has steered many in the right path to responsible gun ownership. “Gun control” is defeated one new gun owner at a time, especially when you are talking about Seattle ultra-libs.
She sets up military history displays at schools. At a school in Sedro Wooly which is an outlying are near the Cascade mountains she got into a discussion with a group of mothers and female teachers. Everyone of them carried a handgun. They did not have them with them at the school because it is not allowed but every last one of the women had started carrying a concealed weapon in the last year. They had a long conversation comparing what types of weapons they carried and what they did to get training and keep their skill levels current. This was a group of women determined not to be victims. I am certain that the crime rate going down has everything to do with people deciding that they are not willing to be victimized anymore.
My wife's life was saved ten years ago by a young soldier who was armed and had two young kids with him, but that is another story. Someday maybe we will be in a situation where the favor will be returned.