In your opinion, what is the nature of violent crime and its extent in the US?

Answer 1

Its all down to short sleeved shirts and the right to bare arms.

Answer 2

Violent crime is different, I believe, in the US than in other countries - the majority of violent crime here is due to personal dysfunction, or social dysfunction in impoverished areas. The crimes occur due to either personal empowerment issues, or to group empowerment issues, and have little to do with political interest. Abroad, violent crime has more to do with political interest and power restructuring and less to do with personal empowerment. Admittedly, I'm looking at bulk numbers and not the extent of each individual crime, but...
While I don't have the numbers to back it up, I also strongly feel that a much higher percentage of our violent crime would be abated without drug and alcohol abuse. You don't hear much of crack stings in Darfour, for example.

Answer 3

Interesting you should ask. I was just reading an article on one aspect of this subject.

In the past year or so, there have been around fifty court-martials for criminal acts committed by soldiers serving in Iraq. To match the per capita crime rate in several "safe" cities in the US, there would have had to be over a thousand general court martials during that time.

It doesn't answer your question, but it does point out that not only are our military not the thugs the media portrays them as, they seem to be a hell of a lot better behaved than the average US citizen.

Answer 4

A violent crime is any crime that causes loss of life or severe injury to another individual.

We have a lot of it in the USA a lot of other countries have the same problem.

Answer 5

According to the book "Freakonomics" which I highly recommend...
The nature of violent crime in America has severely decreased due to one Court decision and a famous Court Case... the right to have abortions.
I don't want to slaughter (All Puns intended) the full impact of his research but the jest of it is that the Right to have Abortions eliminated unwanted children who would have been raised in horrible circumstances, abused, and taken to lives of crime. Crime escalates for some people and they become violent... hence, abort all the ones who want abortions- hell, make them mandatory under a certain poverty level and we'll have NO CRIME!!!!
Or,
We could eliminate poverty and the problem with education.
I vote for the latter.
How about you?
Either way, his research is extensive and I've written arguments against people I respected more- but statisticians are tough to crack. They've literally RUN THE NUMBERS!!!

Answer 6

Violent crime happens in about the same numbers (per capita) as other civilized countries in the world. Ours however tend to be more violent in scope.

Answer 7

Good question. All the research has shown that violent crime is down in the US. Interestingly enough we are ranked 24th on the world list.
http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/cri_mur_percap-crime-murders-per-capita

Answer 8

Fact,the most criminal violent nation in the democratic world! I'm not proud to say that ! Nature,everyone wants that pot of gold and perhaps we have habit of punishing criminals and not rehabilitating them !

Answer 9

there will always be a criminal element, those who find it easier or more thrilling to try and circumvent the laws but there are others who feel disenfranchised or live in areas where one must choose to align themselves with a violent group for so called protection.

in my opinon, one contributor is the change in our morays and ethics have been a huge contributor. so many household where single parents are struggling to provide and are basically absent from parenting and kids lacking proper supervision.

another contributor, in my opinion, is the lack of a belief system that teaches them morals and ethics. they seem to lack a firm foundation and self-esteem, and they lose the goal to better themselves.

another contributor, in my opinoin, is that no one wants to accept personal responsibilites for their actions anymore and refuse to accept the consequences of those actions.

children today have no heros, with so many scandels from athelets, musicians, political leaders and hollywood sectors, and games or movies that glorify violence. they become desensitized to it.

children today know that schools or people in position of authority no longer have the ability to discipline them for infractions, if they do try , the aclu is at the ready to sue for violation of their civil rights. most chilren today know their rights better than adults and they feel entitled to do as they please.

it cost us all in tax dollars but the highest cost is losing our most valuable assets, and if encouraged, could contribute great things.

if we don't provide enough programs for them to better themselves and give them a feeling of value, the gangs will step in and provide this to them, and we lose as much as they do.

Answer 10

Excluding the criminally insane and sociopaths . . . I would say poverty and hopelessness.