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Crime has been trending downwards for decades now. We had a bump around the pandemic for fairly obvious reasons, but it’s been back to trending downwards again.
What about violent crime?
https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2024/04/24/what-the-data-says-about-crime-in-the-us/
The FBI data also shows a 59% reduction in the U.S. property crime rate between 1993 and 2022, with big declines in the rates of burglary (-75%), larceny/theft (-54%) and motor vehicle theft (-53%).
Using the BJS statistics, the declines in the violent and property crime rates are even steeper than those captured in the FBI data. Per BJS, the U.S. violent and property crime rates each fell 71% between 1993 and 2022.
And an NPR article on the same topic:
But in 2023, crime in America looked very different.
“At some point in 2022 — at the end of 2022 or through 2023 — there was just a tipping point where violence started to fall and it just continued to fall,” said Jeff Asher, a crime analyst and co-founder of AH Datalytics.
In cities big and small, from both coasts, violence has dropped.
“The national picture shows that murder is falling. We have data from over 200 cities showing a 12.2% decline … in 2023 relative to 2022,” Asher said, citing his own analysis of public data. He found instances of rape, robbery and aggravated assault were all down too.
Yet when you ask people about crime in the country, the perception is it’s getting a lot worse.
Thank ye
Also the indirect benefits from that, yes.
I remember talk about banning for profit prisons about a decade or so ago. It didn’t last long. This is one of the things we should be fighting tooth and nail for. Locking people in cages so the rich can get richer is disgusting.
making government incentives align with the good of their population is the best way to make sure government does their job
prison should be a loss for all, and therefor everyone should want to reduce people in prison. you can’t do that by simply not having prisons, so you need to address root causes
everyone should be healthy. ensuring that governments pay for the eventual health issues ensures they setup preventative programs that help people to stay healthy for their entire lives (alternatively the dark side of this is, for example, smokers die early and therefor cost less because the government doesn’t have to pay for care for as many elderly people for as long so where’s the incentive to support quit programmes?)
My Uber driver in New Orleans had a strong opinion about for-profit prisons and its impact on the city.
Pretty sure it was Lyft
Even before you get to lobbying to criminalize things that shouldn’t be crimes, the fact that anyone pretends to expect for-profit prisons to rehabilitate any criminal is so idiotic.
What is this, a crime for ants?
I don’t know that ‘one of the main reasons’ is fair. For profit prisons are vile cruelty-factories and have pull with lawmakers, but they hold less than 10% of incarcerated individuals. It’s a reason, sure. But a main reason?
I think there are two obviously larger reasons:
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There are more homeless people and homeowners see them. If you’re a local politician, you can get very far by promising voters that they won’t have to see homeless people. Here in “oregon, tolerant oregon” (to quote jello biafra) this is the most common sentiment to hear, and is reflected in policy.
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Growing resource pressure leads to a rise in ‘punching down’. As climate crisis, imperial turmoil and the rich taking ever more resources fuel poverty and scarcity, the social pressure to distinguish yourself from those further down the social ladder increases. Hating the weak identifies you as strong, which grows in value as more and more insecurity plagues our society.
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But why?
Its the lead:
Edit: Found a better figure.
Standing still for too long? Go to jail for loitering.
Crossing the street? Go to jail for jaywalking?
Existing next to a cop? Arrested for resisting arrest, straight to jail.
Have any money on you? Money is arrested for looking suspicious.
Napping in your car?
Not going to believe this, but straight to jail!
I just found out you have to PAY for your prison stay. $50 dollars a day. What the actual hell?!
Yeah that’s real fucked up, my buddy’s cousin is going away for 5 years and I calculated that on the lowest end, he’d probably be paying at least $73,000 by the time he leaves
sadistic horrible place
don’t forget the police! We need an outlet for our violent people, and some of them are too cowardly to join the military. Those guys need people to beat on and hurt, and if crime’s down, they’re gonna turn to other shit to get their kicks, and we don’t need them turning into pyromaniacs or terrorists just because they’re bored.
Orphan crushing machine go brrrrr
Private prisons only house 8% of US inmates.
In that case, it’s 8% too many.
They’re still not the main issue.
The main issue is the contracts for public prisons.
But if public facilities are at capacity, any further surplus will go to them. 2% more prisoners would boost their head counts by 25%.
I’ve seen this episode of Stargate.
Oh man, I can’t place it. Which episode is this?
Stargate Atlantis - S2E5 - Condemned
Ah, that’s why I couldn’t place it! I’m currently in SG-1 S08 / Atlantis S01 in my first watch through.
Came here specifically to say this, well remembered us.
Wait, what? Shut up, stop looking at that, go have more kids. We need more cattle.
I don’t know. I’d bet you going to jail as a homeless person would be a step up, as they’d have a guaranteed bed, shower, and 3 meals a day. No, criminalizing acts of being homeless is more about punishing them for their existence, and making their lives more miserable; not better.
Not all homeless people are jobless and may have been displaced for one reason or another. Jailing them ensures they won’t have a job and can’t get one in the future
And nearly all states have pay-to-stay policies that deplete their resources for securing housing when they are released
Well, except for locking them in a place with actual violent criminals… and violent prison guards. Jail is a pretty fucked up place, even if you get 3 hots and a cot.
Last I heard from a recent release from my state, they get an individual cereal at 7 and a bologna sandwich at 3.
Slave owner logic
Jails are dehumanizing and horrible places. I would rather starve than live in jail.
Not to mention how having a criminal record pretty much destroys any hope of ever getting out of homelessness. Nobody will hire you, nobody will rent to you.
