The root causes of crime are many and diffuse. A sense of underlying injustice, frustration, anger, poverty, and a culture that glorifies sex and violence, all play some roles that are hard to pin down. So the following factors are presented only as food for thought rather than answers.


Age. Research by criminologist Delbert Elliott's review of comparative rates of youth violence finds that rates of violence are high overall and that they cut across racial and class lines. After the teen years, however, two trends emerge. Of those youth engaged in violent behavior, nearly 80 percent report discontinuing such behavior by their twenties. For black youth, though, nearly twice as many persist in their violent offending after age 21. The one significant exception to this pattern, though, is among those males who are employed. Within this group, there are no discernible differences by race. Elliott concludes that the key to reducing adolescent behavior lies in enabling these individuals to make a successful transition to the adult roles of work, marriage, and parenting. ("Americans Behind Bars: The International Use of Incarceration, 1992-1993," by Marc Mauer, The Sentencing Project, Sept. 1994.)

Poverty. From 1969 to 1986 the percentage of children living in poverty increased from 13.1 percent to 22.9 percent - by far the highest among all industrialized nations. Indeed, only four industrialized nations have child poverty rates more than 10 percent. (Robert Drinan, "Proclaiming the Rights of Children," America, August 31, 1996)

Families. American families spend 40% less time with their children today than they did in 1965 (Wm. Mattox Jr. "The Parent Trap", Policy Review, no 55 Winter 1991)

The increase in average daily TV viewing since 1960 is 39%.

The number of homeless Americans is estimated to be a minimum of 300,000.

Education. Ohio now spends three times more money on state prisons than it does on grade school students. (Prison Legal News,August 1996)

Income Gap. Business Week's annual Executive Pay Report shows that in 1995 average CEO salary and bonus rose 18 percent to $1.65 million; and average CEO compensation (salary, bonus, and long-term compensation such as stock options) jumped by 30 percent to $3.75 million. That comes to $75,000 a week, or $1,875 an hour. (Prison Legal News, August 1996)

Acording to New York University economics professor Edward Wolff, the share of total wealth held by the richest 1 percent of families nearly doubled between 1979 and 1992. (U.S. News and World Report, January, 1996).

Research by Wilkins and Pease suggest that the greater a society's tolerance of inequality, the more extreme the scale of punishment utilized. A society like the United States, premised on a strong degree of individualism and a greater disparity of wealth than most industrialized nations, will be more likely to display harsher cultural attitudes towards sentencing policy than a nation with a broader social welfare system. ("Americans Behind Bars: The International Use of Incarceration, 1992-1993," by Marc Mauer, The Sentencing Project, Sept., 1994.)

Helps. Factors that contribute to a reduction in crime, welfare dependency, teen pregnancy, school drop-outs, drug use and family abuse, include things like: after school recreational programs where kids get mentoring, social support and discipline, educational innovations that motivate children to stay in school; job training carefully linked to job creation, problem-oriented, community based policing; well-designed therapeutic interventions for people with mental health difficulties and drug addictions; and involvement of parents, caretakers and entire communities. (NCIA)

Reasons for the Falloff in Crime

Everyone wants to claim credit whenever ther is a falloff in crime. However, the following three factors are among the most significant:

Demographic Shifts. In the late 1980s, when crime was on the upswing, the population of 18-49 year olds (the age of most incarceratedfelons) grew rapidly. In the 1990s, at the same time crime has moderated, the growth rate of this age group has slowed significantly. This demographic shift is most important as it relates to the crimes of robbery and burglary, because these crimes tend to be committed by young men.

Improved Economy. Some experts believe that the greater availability of jobs has deterred criminal activity and enabled would-be offenders to instead become law-abiding workers. This seems especially true for crimes that have a financial aspect, such as robbery and burglary.

Community Oriented Policing. Some law enforcement authorities are focusing a larger share of resources on community-oriented policing rather than maximize the number of arrests.

Some others believe that grass roots efforts by neighborhood community actions have made a difference. And others believe that longer sentences have helped.

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