Breakdown of the Crime Rate in the US
The crime rate in the US is recorded, processed and analyzed daily by law enforcement, government agencies and researchers around the world. Many look to understand the progression of crime. And crime in the US has always been a subject of interest for studies involving a unique history of slavery, oppression and fear.
Since the nation’s times of colonization, the United States of America has been recording crime and crime rates for criminal justice purposes. The topic of crime in the US covers any actions that are punishable under state or/and federal law. Notably, crime rates in the United States have varied over time and tend to vary as per the location. While some locations are more prone to theft, others remain to be more secure. Even though crime rates have declined significantly in the US, notable statistics on crime rate has been kept to date. The following is a breakdown of crime rates in the United States of America.
Visit the FBI’s publications on their latest data on crime.
Breakdown of Different Crimes in the United States of America
The study of crime and deviance remains to be a major subfield within sociology. Notably, this study pays attention to who commits whatever crime and the motivating factor behind the action. As a result, the name for the given classes of crimes is obtained.
The most common crimes in the United States of America include property crimes and violent crimes. Property crimes are known to involve the theft of property with zero bodily harm to the property owners. Some of the crimes classified under property crimes include larceny, arson, burglary, and motor vehicle theft. On the other hand, violent crimes are crimes against persons. Major examples of violent crimes in the US include aggravated assault, rape, murder, and robbery. Worth mention is that property crimes in the US outnumber violent crimes with a population of seven million against a million in estimate respectively.
While the above-mentioned crime might be the most prevalent in the United States, there remain other crimes that are worth mention for their significant impact on society. These include hate crimes, crimes against morality, organized crimes, and white-collar crimes. Worth noting is the rise in hate crimes which are committed while invoking prejudices and stereotypes on different races, gender, ethnicity, or even sexual orientation. For example, the 2016 presidential elections had Donald Trump win after an uptick in hate crimes all based on gender.
Notably, all these crimes especially property crimes and violent crimes are unevenly distributed all through the United States. While some states or cities might experience high crime rates, others enjoy lower crime rates. Young, poor, urban, and racial minorities are the most arrested for these crimes more than others. Larceny theft also marks a whooping five million incidents of the estimated seven million property crimes while aggravated assault accounts for almost two-thirds of the violent crimes in the United States. So, how is the crime rate distributed in the cities and states of the US?
Breakdown of Crime Rate in the United States by Cities
Depending on the type of community, the crime rates for different cities will always differ. Both property and violent crimes record higher crime rates in metropolitan areas as compared to the national average. On the other hand, rural areas record both property and violent crimes at a lower rate than the nation’s average.
The state of Maine has been recording the lowest violent crime rates with a rate of about a hundred and fifteen crimes per a hundred thousand people. On the other hand, violent crimes are highest in the state of Detroit where the rate of such crimes was about a thousand and sixty-five crimes per a hundred thousand people in the society. However, when it comes to the cities, the District of Columbia marks the city with the highest violent crime rate with a thousand and two hundred cases per a hundred thousand people.While Cambridge (MA) is the most peaceful metropolitan area while Detroit is the least peaceful of the metropolitan area.
Other cities with high violent crimes include Alaska, New Mexico, Tennessee, Arkansas, Louisiana, South Carolina, and Alabama respectively. High population growth and lack of employment have been one of the major reasons why some of these metropolitan areas and cities suffer violent and property crimes.
Final Thought
Crime rates in the United States come in varying numbers all based on the location of the city. In most cases, social problems such as unemployment might lead to higher crime rates in some places. In most of the crime-infested cities and states, there exist lots of social problems hence provoking their people to find a living through theft. While crime rates have been on the decline, some crimes will probably stay with people until social problems are addressed.
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