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Meaning of changes in crime rates
What do recent declines in crime rates show about prophecies of doom heard on rightwing outlets like VFR? It’s not altogether clear. For reasons to think they don’t show there’s been a real turnaround, see Murder in America, which suggests the declines have been mostly due to underreporting, more efficient private protective services, and medical advances that thwart attempted murders by doing a better job of patching up victims. The reduction no doubt also has something to do with the rather horrible fact that one in 32 adults throughout the US is now either in jail, on parole or on probation. Posted by Jim Kalb at September 04, 2002 09:45 AM | Send Comments
According to a quick estimate, approximately half of that vast number of Americans who are under criminal supervision are blacks. I base this on the frequently repeated statement (I don’t have a source to point to at the moment) that 1/4 of black men are in jail, probation, or parole. Blacks are 13 percent of the population, so black males are 6.5 percent of the population. One quarter of 6.5 percent is about 1.6 percent. That’s 1/62nd of the population, or just over one half of 1/32nd of the population. Posted by: Lawrence Auster on September 4, 2002 12:31 PM |