December 27, 2011
THE OTHER PEACE DIVIDEND:
Taking a bite out of crime (Charles Lane, 12/27/11, Washington Post)
We are reaping a domestic peace dividend, and it can be measured in the precious coin of human life. Berkeley criminologist Franklin E. Zimring has found that the death rate for young men in New York today is half what it would have been if homicides had continued unabated.The psychological payoff, too, is enormous. Only 38 percent of Americans say they fear walking alone at night within a mile of their homes, according to Gallup, down from 48 percent three decades ago. For my teenage son and his classmates, dread of crime is far less prevalent than it was in my generation. Indeed, other than showing him "Robocop," I don't know how to make my kid understand the anxieties we once took for granted.Lower crime rates also mean one less source of political polarization. In August 1994, 52 percent of Americans told Gallup that crime was the most important issue facing the country; in November 2011, only 1 percent gave that answer. Think political debate is venomous now? Imagine if law and order were still a "wedge issue."Did I mention the economic benefits? Safe downtowns draw more tourists for longer stays. Fewer car thefts mean lower auto insurance rates. Young people who don't get murdered grow up to produce goods and services.Plunging crime rates also debunk conventional wisdom, left and right. Crime's continued decline during the Great Recession undercuts the liberal myth that hard times force people into illegal activity -- that, like the Jets in "West Side Story," crooks are depraved on account of being deprived.
Posted by Orrin Judd at December 27, 2011 7:26 AM
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