FabSwingers.com forum: Crime.

By (user no longer on site) OP
over a year ago

Interesting that crime rates continue to fall by any and all reasonable measures.

Although the Tories are making (understandable) political hay out of the figures, the fact is that crime rates have been falling internationally for the last 15-20 years, and year on year by almost 10% for the last ten - that's in almost every civic society in the world! last year the umber of homicides in this country was 550. Ten years ago it was over double that number.

How and why is this happening? It's partially explained by much better security in houses and, especially, cars but there are two other major theories that criminologists give increasing credence to:

a) Crime rates have actually been on a historical ever decreasing circle - as civic society and education become more entrenched, crime had become much less of a pathway - this was disrupted in the 20th Century by the first mass mobilisation for the world wars. The experiences and trauma of those returning troops pyschologically overturned societal advances, especially as there was little or no support for them once back home. Ex-servicemen have always made up a significant proportion of the prison population but as the memory of mass conscription fades, so does the burden that inevitable goes with it.

b) More controversially, scientists are increasingly persuaded that the lead that was previously part of the make-up of car fuel had a damaging effect on the developing brain - which could have caused behavioural changes.

Whatever, crime rates are down which is great news

(Although that doesn't stop many people thinking that they're ever rising)