Did You Know? Crime Facts

Did you know?

• According to Nation Master, you’re 66 times more likely to be prosecuted in the USA than in France.
• One in every three Australians is a victim of crime.
• Women make up more than 10% of the prison population in only six countries: Thailand, , Qatar,Paraguay, Costa Rica, and Singapore.
• America puts many more of its citizens in prison than any other nation.
• Two-thirds of the world’s kidnappings occur in Colombia.
• It’s estimated that nearly 1 million animals a year are abused or killed in connection with domestic violence.
• In a shocking number of cases, individuals who commit terrible acts of violence against people, such as serial killers, child abusers, spousal abusers and rapists, have a history of animal abuse? For example, as a youth, Albert DeSalvo (the Boston strangler) trapped cats and dogs in crates and abused them.
• Violent crime (robbery, murder, aggravated assault and forcible rape) declined 4 percent in metropolitan counties and 3 percent elsewhere since 2008.
• Nationwide, the murder rate was down 7.2 percent last year. The largest decrease in murders – 7.5 percent – took place in cities of half a million to a million in population. The only increase – 5.3 percent – occurred in cities with 25,000 to 50,000 people.
• Robbery dropped 8.1 percent, aggravated assault declined 4.2 percent and forcible rape was down 3.1 percent.Violent crime fell 6.6 percent in the South, 5.6 percent in the West, 4.6 percent in the Midwest and 3.5 percent in the Northeast.
  • The Christian Science Monitor lists these six reasons for a decrease in crime:
    • Incarceration: more criminals put in jail, the fewer there are on the streets to commit crimes.
    • Policing: there are more cameras everywhere, it’s hard to commit crimes
    • Social Programs: All those programs law enforcement and community groups put into action may actually be paying off.
    • Demographics: It’s mostly younger people who commit the crimes and right now the younger people don’t make up the majority of the population.
    • Unemployment benefits: “Some theories suggest that the more government support an individual can receive – through unemployment benefits, food stamps, controlled rent, and other forms of welfare – the less he or she may be encouraged to commit financial- or stress-motivated crime.”
    • Fewer Opportunity: With more unemployment rates and people staying home, this may have starved off property crime. They are there protecting their homes more often now.
• Blue collar crime may be down, but white collar crime is up.
  • According to a 2006 study by the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law, “White-collar crime costs the United States as much as $400 billion annually. That is more than 10 times the annual budget of the state of Michigan. According to the sourcebook of criminal justice, 10,700 persons were charged with embezzlement in the United States in 2002. A review of the literature reveals that more is known about offenders convicted of burglary, larceny, and motor vehicle theft than white-collar offenders, even though the latter may have a much greater economic impact on society.”
• About 1 in 30 people, in the U.S., are in jail, on probation, or on parole.
• Al Capone’s business card said he was a used furniture dealer.
• Eighty percent of Americans will be the victim of violent crime at least once in their lifetime.
• Every day 20 banks are robbed. The average take is $2,500.
• The IRS employees tax manual has instructions for collecting taxes after a nuclear war.