By Charlotte Young

Could there possibly be some unknown superhero protecting America’s streets from violent crime? Perhaps not. But there is a decrease in violent crime across the nation, and the surprising trend has criminologist experts baffled as they search for an explanation.

According to the Christian Science Monitor, an FBI report revealed that violent crime dropped 6 percent in 2010, compared to the previous year. This is the fourth consecutive annual decline. The report, entitled, “Crime in the Unites States,” compiles research from over 18,000 city, country, university and college, state, tribal and federal law enforcement agencies.

Violent crime encompasses murder, non-negligent manslaughter, forcible rape, robbery and aggravated assault. Of the violent crimes, robberies saw the highest drop at 10 percent, and burglaries saw the lowest drop at two percent. Violent crime was not the only type of crime to drop. Property crime decreased by 2.7 percent in 2010; a consecutive annual drop since 2007.

With the housing market consistently stagnant and unemployment remaining high, current conditions would seemingly point to an increase in crime. In addition, budgets cuts have left law enforcement agencies with 1 percent less officers on the streets than in 2008.

Given these statistics and circumstances, criminologists are forced to re-consider the causes of crime. Criminal justice professor William Pridemore at Indiana University in Bloomington, says that it may take years to find an explanation for the FBI’s report.

There are several theories in the works. One possibility for the decline could be that technology improvements have enabled law enforcement to be more strategic in their approach to crime. Another reason could be that the elderly baby boomer generation comprises the group with the lowest criminal activity.

Professor Pridemore notes that the FBI report provides an interesting look at crime data, but it’s not representative of every individual area. Violent crime in New York City, for example, jumped up five percent in 2010.

The recession is also closely linked to domestic abuse crimes as family stress has risen in the poor economy. Pediatrics magazine published a report on Monday that revealed that during the recession, abuse of children under 5 increased by 65 percent.

(Jack & Jill Politics) – Local news ABC7 is saying that 75% of those arrested for stirring up trouble were from outside the Oakland area. The police are calling them “anarchists”. The people of Oakland are peaceful and it only takes a few people to agitate and inflame tensions. Businesses were attacked despite the Grant family’s calls for non-violence. I’m glad at least that local news coverage is not portraying Oakland and the African-American community as violent, animalistic looters.

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(BlackPoliticsOnTheWeb.com) — Detroit Mayor Dave Bing said Thursday the city has no answer to the recent spike in violence that has left at least 12 people dead, including a patrolman, two teenage boys, a grandmother, the adult son of another police officer, and a 7-year-old girl. “It’s very demoralizing, very painful … don’t know how to stop it, quite frankly,” Bing told a group of area business and elected leaders Thursday during an annual political forum in the suburban community of Birmingham.

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