Jobless rate up, crime down! What gives?

[otis24]

Just read a story on MSNBC about jobless rates being way up, and crime still at an all time low. "Experts" are baffled. Of course, nothing was mentioned about gun ownership (specifically concealed carry) being one of the very strong reasons as to why crime is down. Some of it was attributed to "smart policing". I say criminals are getting smarter. With the proliferation of gun ownership and states with Castle Doctrines, the Wiseguys are getting wiser!

[billdeserthills]

Funny thing about this countries fastest growing crime, identity theft.
Most of these crimes are never solved, in fact the police don't seem to care much as they are non-violent crimes. I know here in Arizona police will many times not even be dispatched unless a violent crime has taken place. I really believe that this number you are refering to has been skewed, likely for our "higher ups" to get a lil' feel-good moment

[old bear]

Funny thing about this countries fastest growing crime, identity theft.

Funny that you mention that. My Visa card was hacked, again, $500.00 worth, on December 10,2011. This is the second time in less than 2 years. They still have not resolved it.

Last summer my AMX card was hacked in the amount $1,500.00. AMX had it resolved and I had a new card in hand in two days.

[armadillo]

I don't believe these stories unless they produce the raw data. There are too many ways to fudge the numbers and still be "accurate."

Politicians (read Chiefs) know that crime statistics can make a city look bad. I have seen property crimes reported as "incidents" rather than crimes so they don't show up in the statistics.

[Old 44 Guy]

Crime down??? How about the Govt.????

[ogilvyspecial]

I don't know if crime is up or down or not.

One thing I do know, many "Experts" are easily baffled.

[GatorFarmer]

Shrug. There is also no problem with inflation, the economy is doing fine and there is nothing to be worried about.

[24spenser]

Originally Posted by armadillo

I don't believe these stories unless they produce the raw data. There are too many ways to fudge the numbers and still be "accurate."

Politicians (read Chiefs) know that crime statistics can make a city look bad. I have seen property crimes reported as "incidents" rather than crimes so they don't show up in the statistics.

BINGO. Chiefs need good stats to keep their appointments and Sheriffs need 'em for re-election. I've seen plenty of police reports reclassified as 'Information Only" so they dont fall into a UCR category.

[sasu]

I have read that crime indeed goes down when economy goes down . The explanation given was that during economic boom the differences in living standards spread further apart and this motivates some people to improve their status through crime . When economy is down being poor is the standard, so there is less reason for crime.

[mstuhr]

Howdy,
Crime, unemployment, inflation, GNP you name it. I won't believe much from any news or political source before elections unless I can confirm it.
That is a shame as those are entities that should live and die by the truth.
I'm getting used to it.
Thanks
Mike the cynic

[David LaPell]

We had a similar story locally and we at work laughed at it. Where I live crime, especially property crime like thefts and burglaries are way up. Alot of people taking what isn't theirs, sometimes by force. I recall about three months or so ago when eleven people were all caught at the same time breaking into a scrap yard. Those and drug crimes, we are a small area and we have alot of NYC folks driving up here and peddling crack cocaine and other drugs. Two years ago our jail was full but about 1/3 were board in inmates from other counties downstate that were full. Now our jail is practically full of our own inmates and it has been that way for quite some time.

[blujax01]

Originally Posted by GatorFarmer

Shrug. There is also no problem with inflation, the economy is doing fine and there is nothing to be worried about.

Thaaat's right. Nothing to see here, move along...

Just keep playing your video games, Facebooking and watching Sit Coms, everything is fine....

Shhh, shhh, baby. Just go back to sleep....

[johnsonl]

"They" forgot to mention how much gun ownership has increased since 2008. Weird. They also won't mention that OWS protestors taste like barbeque chicken.

[JcMack]

Crime of every nature is up around here. Gun crime is everywhere. I'm about 30 miles from downtown Chicago. Every day brings some new shooting reports. A day without a murder is really unusual. Most of it is stupid gang shootouts. I'd like to see a report of the dollars spent on victims of drive bys. I would bet that an incident where one shooter hits four victims and is later caught costs us 2 million dollars. One million in hospital bills for the victims and another million to convict and house the shooter for 20 years. So in my stupid analogy these creeps are stealing from all of us. Four people were shot at a local gin mill (1 mile from me) just after midnight last Friday.

[Fishinfool]

As they say, an armed society is a polite society....

Larry

[Moonman]

Pencil Whipping Politicos can do AMAZING things with numbers.

[jbull380]

MSNBC. You lost me there. (or any other main stream news outlet for that matter).

[ChattanoogaPhil]

Criminals are staying home... they can't afford the gas.

[diamonback68]

Originally Posted by blujax01

Thaaat's right. Nothing to see here, move along...

Just keep playing your video games, Facebooking and watching Sit Coms, everything is fine....

Shhh, shhh, baby. Just go back to sleep....

And if you erroneously think it's getting too bad, hush and drink your Kool-Aid.

[diamonback68]

Originally Posted by Moonman

Pencil Whipping Politicos can do AMAZING things with numbers.

Yup, figures don't lie, but liars figure.

[thndrchiken]

Originally Posted by jbull380

MSNBC. You lost me there. (or any other main stream news outlet for that matter).

You beat me to it. Come now, you really believe the drivel that MSNBC spews forth claiming it is journalism? Maybe in the George Soro's world of rose colored glasses.

[truckemup97]

Originally Posted by sasu

I have read that crime indeed goes down when economy goes down . The explanation given was that during economic boom the differences in living standards spread further apart and this motivates some people to improve their status through crime . When economy is down being poor is the standard, so there is less reason for crime.

That could actually be true here in the U.S. Here, the "poor" have cable TV, flat screens, X-Boxes, cell phones and cars with 22" wheels. They aren't stealing to eat, as the true poor are in third world countries.

Or maybe I've just taken so many sociology classes that this makes sense.

[JcMack]

You'll notice when "entitlement" reform is mentioned, welfare and all the other etcs. involved are never brought up. I agree with truckemup97. The guy that's been making dependents, and his babies mama's are not clipping coupons like me and my retired neighbors. None of these people ever worked, nor do they intend to. They do however run out of spendin cash earlier because KFC's prices are way up. The solution is to steal.

[Stevens]

I believe most crime is commited by people who never did have a job or not for long anyway. So the crime rate does not nescessarily go up when people who had a job and usually are honest are laid off.
The folks commiting crimes are not doing so for money to feed their families but for drugs, partying, and toys cars etc
Steve W

[g_conway]

It's not the unemployment rate that drives crime, It's the quality of the unemployed. Many people who are out of work are normal hardworking honerable people who care for the world around them. They will have to be pushed much farther down the rabbit hole before they would turn to crime. Hopefully, the economy will recover before that happens.

[thndrchiken]

Originally Posted by g_conway

It's not the unemployment rate that drives crime, It's the quality of the unemployed. Many people who are out of work are normal hardworking honerable people who care for the world arond them. They will have to be pushed much farther down the rabbit hole before they would turn to crime. Hopefully, the economy will recover before that happens.

True, so true.

[Fishslayer]

Originally Posted by armadillo

I don't believe these stories unless they produce the raw data. There are too many ways to fudge the numbers and still be "accurate."

Politicians (read Chiefs) know that crime statistics can make a city look bad. I have seen property crimes reported as "incidents" rather than crimes so they don't show up in the statistics.

^^^ This

Recent "incidents" in my area have got me to having a gun handy around the house. The doors are staying locked pretty much all the time, too.

[feralmerril]

Stevens had it nailed with this: "I believe most crime is commited by people who never did have a job or not for long anyway. So the crime rate does not nescessarily go up when people who had a job and usually are honest are laid off."
I never really thought about it before, but I belive anyone that had to work hard on a cheap job will respect others property. I know when I was a boy working in the fields for almost nothing, we would fight and get bloody noses if someone tried to cheat us out of a dime!

[Marshall 357]

They must not live in Michigan