Guest OpEd by David Lahav is the Owner of Advanced Locksmith
One of the most important tasks in the United States is fighting crime, which has been a core mission during the Donald Trump presidential campaign.
The crime rate in every geographical area varies according to the type of crime, and different contexts are required to understand crime including the evolution in the United States, crime distribution according to type, and global crime.
Global Ranking for United States Crime
The United States ranks first regarding total crimes due to the enormous population. Only the populations of China and India are higher than in the United States.
The crime index in the U.S. by mid-2020 was 46.73. This is the 49th slot on global crime rankings.
The U.S. was 45th in 2019 with a safety index of 52.87 and the crime index at 47.13.
The U.S. outranks all other countries for crimes involving guns. This is due to the rate of gun ownership of 88.8 for every 100 residents.
The murder rate is approximately 42.01 for every million individuals. Although the U.S. is first for rape crimes, the index is in ninth place at 27.3.
The U.S. international homicide ranking is 55th worldwide with an index of 5.30. Despite the fairly low crime rate, the statistics show the number of crimes reported in the U.S. outrank every other country.
The reason is less crimes occur for every 100,000 individuals in comparison to other countries.
As the population of the U.S. grows, the crime statistics increase. Despite this, the crime rates are not reflected in the number of crimes reported.
Crime rates might be dropping. The U.S. population is expected to continue increasing at an average of 0.9 percent every year.
Within a few decades, the population may reach 400 million. Despite the increase in reported crimes, the crime rate may decrease. The U.S. government might be able to decrease crimes despite the growing population.
U.S. Crime Rate for the Past 30 Years
Despite the increase in crime numbers during the last 30 years, recorded crime rates have decreased between the 1990s and 2019.
Between 1993 and 2018, violent crime rates decreased by 51 percent. From 1993 through 2018, motor vehicle theft, theft and burglary have decreased.
According to FBI statistics, property crimes between 1993 and 2018 decreased by 54 percent due to improved security. Between 2015 and 2016, the national murder rate rose from 4.4 to 5.4 percent prior to decreasing afterward.
Large cities including Chicago contributed to the increase in murders between 2015 and 2016 from 478 to 765.
Statistics from 2018 show as other crimes decreased, rape has increased from 2013 when the definition was changed by the FBI.
The rape rate increased by 18 percent from 2013 to 2018. New numbers are an indication rape is now reported more often than during the past. Approximately 40 percent of all rapes were reported in 2017 as opposed to the previous rate of below 25 percent.
The Social Profile
The population’s social dynamics and crime rate have been linked.
Areas with fewer economic opportunities have more crime. Populations with financial disadvantages have more violent crimes. Improving the conditions may result in a decrease in crime in these areas.
High poverty rates are seen in Albuquerque and Memphis including crippling social issues and inadequate community and police relations. Areas with high poverty rates suffer unusually high rates of robbery, vehicle theft and burglary.
People living in cities with large differences between poor and rich result in crimes for survival.
Drugs and intoxication led to impaired judgment resulting in crimes.
Drug habits are met through burglary, robbery and theft. The crime rates connected to drug use are generally higher.
Property and violent crimes occur more frequently among younger populations as opposed to aging. More crimes are committed by males than females with approximately 70 percent of all U.S. crimes committed by males.
More U.S. crimes are committed by Hispanics and whites, totaling 69.3 percent of the arrests, 28.1 percent are blacks, 1.4 percent Alaskan Natives or American Indians and 1.2 Pacific Islanders or Asians.
Hispanics and whites committing crimes represent 2.9 percent of the U.S. population, 6.8 percent are blacks, 4.6 percent Alaskan Natives or American Indians and 0.7 percent Pacific Islanders or Asians.
Crime Geography
Urban areas have a greater chance of violent crime. Different factors must be considered regarding the proportion of violent crime in any U.S. state.
The average crime rate in the U.S. in 2019 was 381. The safest state was Maine with the crime rate 112. The highest crime rate was in the District of Columbia at 996.
The crime rate in Vermont was 172, 173 in New Hampshire and 200 in Virginia. In 2017, crime in Chicago decreased by 10 percent with a drop in violent crimes of 11 percent.
Aggravated assault and robbery decreased 18 percent in Chicago with a 13 percent drop in homicides.
Despite the drop in most crime rates, in 2017 Chicago had an increase of one percent in rape rates.
Crime during the last few decades has decreased in San Francisco and New York. Despite the crime rate decline of 1.4 percent in 2017, there was an increase of 1.5 percent in violent crimes.
The eight percent homicide increase has not impacted the lower murder rate of 30 percent below the average nationally.
Homicides in San Francisco decreased 18 percent and rape crimes by 14 percent.
In 2017, the general crime rate decreased seven percent including a five percent drop in property crimes and a 16 percent decrease in burglaries.
Property crime rates during 2018 were high for all cities with a minimum population of 500,000.
Higher numbers were only seen in Albuquerque and Memphis. Homicides in Philadelphia increased 10 percent in 2018 with a 2019 increase in violent crime of four percent.
Homicides increased by one percent with violent crimes spiking due to aggravated assault.
The crime rate has not been this low since 1990. According to the statistics, U.S. citizens are more likely to commit violent crimes than immigrants.
The number of murders committed in Baltimore increased in 2019 with a drop in homicides, burglary and robbery.
There was a decrease of six percent for reported crimes with a 2.5 percent drop for violent crimes, 26 percent for rape and 10 percent for homicides.
(The video compares the Top 20 countries by their homicide rate (per 100,000 people) from 1990 to 2018. It can be seen that many of the countries are from South America. Courtesy of WawamuStats and YouTube. Posted on Jan 9, 2020.)
The crime rate for Denver increased in 2020 including 21.1 property crimes and 3.1 violent crimes per 1,000 residents. Sexual assault was 0.4, sexual assault 1.3, burglaries 3.5, theft 1.3 and car theft 4.5.
Violent crimes reported increased by 1.5 percent between 2019 and 2020. Property theft increased by 11 percent. The crime rate in Denver exceeds the U.S. average for property crimes and violent crimes.
About the Author
David Lahav is the Owner of Advanced Locksmith, and Red Rocks Locksmith located in Denver, and Boulder CO, respectively.Â
His passion is to provide quality and honest service, to assist in keeping the company’s customers safe and secure, while offering the latest and most advanced solutions that can be found on the market.
AST strives to meet a 3 STAR trustworthiness rating, based on the following criteria:
- Provides named sources
- Reported by more than one notable outlet
- Includes supporting video, direct statements, or photos
