More guns less crime!

[Beiruty]

http://news.yahoo.com/violent-crime-plu ... 54353.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of violent crimes fell by a surprising 12 percent in the United States last year, a far bigger drop than the nation has been averaging since 2001, the Justice Department said.
The Bureau of Justice Statistics reported there were 3.8 million violent crimes last year, down from 4.3 million in 2009.
Experts aren't sure why. The expectation had been that crime would increase in a weak economy with high unemployment like that seen in 2010.

[AEA]

Except for Illinois and New York!

[RoyGBiv]

http://news.yahoo.com/violent-crime-plu ... 54353.html

Turning to rates of crime per thousand residents, which takes into account population growth over time, it's clear that the decline in violent crime is part of a long-term trend that began in 1993.

From 1993 through 2010, the rate of violent crime has declined by a whopping 70 percent: from 49.9 violent crimes per 1,000 persons age 12 or older to only 14.9 per 1,000 in 2010.

Half of this decline came between 1993 and 2001. Between 2001 and 2009, violent crime declined at a more modest annual average of 4 percent, but that rate decline jumped to 13 percent in 2010.

From 2001 through 2010, the rate of property crime fell by 28 percent.

---------------------------------------------------- Coincidence? Not.!

[Beiruty]

The other fact for this drop, BGs are shifting to Drug street gangs and individual drug dealing, less robberies and less burglaries. And, ifthe money is enough for all, less fighting over it.

[chasfm11]

More than 80 percent of the decline in violent crime was attributed to a plunge in simple assaults, by 15 percent. Those assaults accounted for nearly two-thirds of all violent crimes in 2010.

As much as I'm thrilled with any drop in the crime rate and even more so if there seems to be a correlation between that drop and citizen gun ownership or use, I think this sentence really needs more explanation. I assume that into the simple assault category would go bar fights and similar types of incidents.

With any drop in a statistic, I'm suspicious about an under-reporting problem rather than real results change. I'm not sure who would have what axe to grind to alter the way that the information is gathered on this, however.