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Falling Crime: Where have all the burglars gone?

economist.com

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Re: Falling Crime: Where have all the burglars gone?

#111

Post by marincounty »

rwhitman wrote: post #28

I don't think enough emphasis is put in these studies on the rise of cheap entertainment for bored male youth. Teenage boys that normally would have been running around in the streets committing entry level crimes are now glued to their Xbox. The declines in crime also happen to correlate with the ubiquitousness and availability of video games. As they get cheaper and more violent, crime goes down. Sure policing has…

I think you nailed it. I think cams have people thinking twice. I know they prevented me from banging a well deserving dude once.

Re: Falling Crime: Where have all the burglars gone?

#112

Post by cpncrunch »

coryrc wrote: post #76
tmorton wrote: post #5

This article mentions, but undersells, the lead factor. Lead exposure causes cognitive problems in children, especially related to impulse control. The drop in crime correlates very well with lead cleanup. Kevin Drum (a left-leaning US journalist) has been making this argument: http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2013/01/lead-and-crime...

Small planes still run leaded fuels so the (rich) owners can save money not changing their engines. This is 50% of our current exposure, needlessly! http://www.treehugger.com/aviation/leaded-gas-banned-around-...

I fly planes, and I haven't met a rich owner yet. The typical cessna 150/172 costs less than a new SUV. The rich owners tend to fly kerosene burners.

Also, most small-engine planes can already burn regular unleaded autogas. It's just the high-compression engines that require the lead. The FAA, AOPA and others are working on developing alternatives, but it takes time. Perhaps they should have done this sooner.

Re: Falling Crime: Where have all the burglars gone?

#113

Post by lifeformed »

liquidcool wrote: post #62

Since this piece mentions burglary in specific, I found it thriving in Southern California (OC), but in a very specific fashion. Very careful criminals are using the following M.O.: - Parking garages with no cameras - Security is part time, and they wait until they're gone - They hit only cars that are unlocked, so no breaking, just entering - Occasionally, if they see a big score like a laptop, they will break a win…

What are people leaving in their cars that are worth taking?

Re: Falling Crime: Where have all the burglars gone?

#114

Post by randomdata »

RyanMcGreal wrote: post #21
EGreg wrote: post #15

There is a simple reason: computers and the internet. It makes people more docile and satisfies their urges. Porn for sexual urges, social media for "socializing", google and wikipedia for knowledge etc. That last part also makes everyone more educated. Which also correlates to less (blue collar) crime.

Simple and likely wrong. Violent crime started falling in the early 1990s, before the internet had much of any penetration outside academia.

Anecdotal, but growing up in a generally low-income rural area, I don't remember any of my peers not having a computer in the early 90s. Many of them, including myself, even had computers into the mid-80s and some of those families were quite poor, even by local standards.

The internet came later, but games like Doom were huge long before that, which is pertinent as you mention violent crime specifically.

Re: Falling Crime: Where have all the burglars gone?

#115

Post by bqe »

moron4hire wrote: post #2

I think historians will look back at the early 21st century and note that Soma was best served digitally, rather than chemically.

This sort of trite criticism of the hoi polloi is easy and lazy.

People are better informed than ever, read more than ever, and are more satisfied with their lives than ever. You dismiss this monumental progress by calling it a drug.

Re: Falling Crime: Where have all the burglars gone?

#116

Post by mathattack »

rfnslyr wrote: post #107
mathattack wrote: post #105

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Taking this a step further... The more violent the video games, the more likely we are to take violent criminals off the street, right? I like where you're going with this.

No. Definitely not. I deal with the certain "urges" on a daily basis. No matter how much gore there is in a game, no matter how graphic, it will never replace. Just like holding a brightly coloured object in front of someone doesn't cure depression. Nothing does, it only temporarily sets it aside. It's a distraction if anything.

I hear you - my comment was in jest.

Re: Falling Crime: Where have all the burglars gone?

#117

Post by EdiX »

petercooper wrote: post #59
rwhitman wrote: post #28

I don't think enough emphasis is put in these studies on the rise of cheap entertainment for bored male youth. Teenage boys that normally would have been running around in the streets committing entry level crimes are now glued to their Xbox. The declines in crime also happen to correlate with the ubiquitousness and availability of video games. As they get cheaper and more violent, crime goes down. Sure policing has…

Teenage boys that normally would have been running around in the streets committing entry level crimes are now glued to their Xbox. The declines in crime also happen to correlate with the ubiquitousness and availability of video games. As they get cheaper and more violent, crime goes down. I really like your argument but I remember how ubiquitous the SNES, Sega Genesis and PS1 were in the 90s. I do wonder what role t…

> I really like your argument but I remember how ubiquitous the SNES, Sega Genesis and PS1 were in the 90s.

Wii, PS3 and Xbox 360 sold more units in less time and haven't been discontinued yet. And they are competing with the internet.

Re: Falling Crime: Where have all the burglars gone?

#118

Post by pessimizer »

btilly wrote: post #57
bilbo0s wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't know if we have to go reaching for lead as the reason. If the effects of chemical substances on the brain are indeed a factor... and yes, they probably are. Then there is probably a far more simple explanation. Drugs. Instead of police being faced with impoverished young men of the 70s, 80s and 90s who are hyped up on cocaine, crack or pcp and trolling for their next hit. They are dealing with the impoverishe…

I don't know if we have to go reaching for lead as the reason. Reaching??? There was strong evidence that lead caused widespread and permanent damage to children's brains. Therefore the USA spent billions to remove it from our environment. After it is removed, asking whether this made a difference IS NOT a reach. PARTICULARLY NOT when compared to a hypothesis of differences in drug use over time that you've provided…

Is there some evidence somewhere that brain damage causes robbery? It's entirely reasonable to say that the lead explanation is "reaching," although it may turn out to be true.

>asking whether this made a difference

You're equivocating here, intentionally. The question is whether it made a difference in crime, not whether it "made a difference."

Re: Falling Crime: Where have all the burglars gone?

#119

Post by r00fus »

rwhitman wrote: post #28

I don't think enough emphasis is put in these studies on the rise of cheap entertainment for bored male youth. Teenage boys that normally would have been running around in the streets committing entry level crimes are now glued to their Xbox. The declines in crime also happen to correlate with the ubiquitousness and availability of video games. As they get cheaper and more violent, crime goes down. Sure policing has…

Games, and porn. Take care of your urges and aggression without leaving your house.

Re: Falling Crime: Where have all the burglars gone?

#120

Post by pessimizer »

bqe wrote: post #115
moron4hire wrote: post #2

I think historians will look back at the early 21st century and note that Soma was best served digitally, rather than chemically.

This sort of trite criticism of the hoi polloi is easy and lazy. People are better informed than ever, read more than ever, and are more satisfied with their lives than ever. You dismiss this monumental progress by calling it a drug.

I need references for all three of those claims.
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