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Overall crime rates still lowest in 30 years PDF Print E-mail
Written by Daniel White   
Monday, 26 September 2005

According to reports released by the U.S. Justice Department, the nation's crime rate remained largely unchanged last year.

From the Associated Press:
The 2004 violent crime rate - assault, sexual assault and armed robbery - was 21.4 victims for every 1,000 people age 12 and older. That amounts to about one violent crime victim for every 47 U.S. residents.

By comparison, there were 22.6 violent crime victims per 1,000 people in 2003. The Bureau of Justice Statistics said the difference between the rates in 2003 and 2004 was statistically insignificant.
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Many explanations have been advanced for decline in violent crime, including the record prison population of more than 2 million people, the addition of 100,000 police officers since the mid-1990s and even a deterrent effect that terrorism might have had on street crime.

We'd also put forth the fact that the steady decline in the overall crime rate since the early 1990's as paralleled by the steady passage of right to carry laws throughout the country. Simply put, it is becoming less and less safe to commit violent crimes against potential victims who might very well be armed and able to protect themselves.

In 2004, just under one-quarter of all violent crimes were committed by an offender armed with a gun, knife or other weapon.

This goes to show, once again, that it is the person who is committing the crime, not the tool. This also shows that 3 out of 4 times, it is simple disparity of force that is used in the commission of a crime. An armed victim quickly closes that gap and makes it much less likely for a violent crime to be followed through to completion.