Drop In Crime

Based on the readings in Chapter 4, during the 1990’s there were 8 explanations for the drop in crime. Those explanations were, innovative policing strategies, increased reliance on prisons, changes in crack and other drug markets, aging of the population, tougher gun-control laws, strong economy, increased number of police and all other explanations (which includes gun buyback and increase use of capital punishment).

I was very surprised by the findings in the reach found by Levitt and Dubner. The explanations given initially I believed were very good reasons for drop in crime. The shock was that most of those were not even reason for crime drops and the ones that were actual valid reasons were not what I expected.

First explanation, innovative

Prior to the introduction to crack, cocaine and herion were more expensive drugs. The drug users were people who could afford the more expensive drugs. When the drugs became less expensive, example crack, people were not making as much money being a crack dealer as they did compared to the late 80’s. Those kingpins were going to prison or dying and the younger generation didn’t feel like the minimal amouts they could make or killing someone over it was worth the jail time. So even though the crime rate fell due to this, it was nothing in comparison to the percentage that drugs caused the crime to increase in prior

One was the majority of the population in the 90’s were elderly. This was not a factor in dropping crime. The second part however was. That was the rate of birth was down due to people having the option to choice to birth a child or have an abortion. Until 1973 abortions were illegal and only rich women were able to get them. When it became a legal practice, women had the option. It wasn’t the fact that women just didn’t want to have babies but those women were usually lower income or uneducated or would not be able to care for the child. Most of those children, statically, would have became criminals based on their environments. Abortion rate increased in the 70’s and 80’s. those children would have been entering their youth and young adulthood in the 90’s. Since those “children” were not around to commit those possible crimes.

Explanation number five is gun control laws. The research proved this was not a factual reason for the decrease in crime in the 90’s. What I took from this was that people cause the crimes not the guns. The fact that a gun changes the outcome of a situation is a good explanation of this. But you have to realize that people who are criminals don’t usually get guns the legal way so having increased or greater gun control laws do not relate to them. The things that would hinder them is being caught with an illegal gun which would relate to lenghter or harsher