Crime Rates are Actually Increasing?

Crime rates in the United States are not dropping,the rates are a reflection of the current trend towards indifference,frustration and acceptance of behavior, that in past years would not be tolerated.

Example:

In the Daily Pennsylvanian – The headlines reads – Letting it slide:Crimes often go unreported.

When one Penn freshman had her coat stolen at a bar last month, she was understandably upset.Only 19, the student faced a choice: Either bite the bullet and report the crime – and face the consequences for underage drinking – or kiss her $150 jacket goodbye. Basically the reason people do not report crime is that they believe that nothing can be done to catch the perpetrator.

In February, for example, College senior Aaron Rock told The Daily Pennsylvanian that he had been attacked by two men. Following the incident, he did not report the assault to police because he could not give a full description of the suspect and felt that doing so would be pointless.

As much as 62 percent of property crimes go unreported by the victims, according to the National Crime Victimization Survey by the Bureau of Justice Statistics. Victims may decline to report a property crime because of fear of reprisal. Victims may also distrust law enforcement, or even feel such pity for the criminals themselves that they balk at reporting property crime.

Fear keeps people quiet. After being victimized by a criminal, many people remain in a vulnerable emotional state. Such individuals often refrain from reporting property crime out of concern that by doing so they will be targeted once again, and perhaps physically injured. People who are suspicious or critical of law enforcement are often reluctant to report crimes

Another aspect of American government is that it is as little trusted now as they ever were, and law enforcement largely falls within that category. The lack of confidence in the police is fed not only by the various scandals which surface regularly in the news media, but by people’s own personal experiences dealing with police, and the experiences of their families, friends, and acquaintances

Clearly heavy handed attitude contributes to mistrust of law enforcement, hence unwillingness to report crime.It would be speculative on my part to suggest then that there is a lack of communication between law enforcement and the community in which the law community operates..