This is one of those things that deserves so much more attention from the press…
Basically, we are experiencing a huge decline in burglaries on United States in the last 30 years. Since 1980 burglary rates are down by almost half.
Just to give an idea of how significant this is: The drop in property crimes — which outnumber violent crimes by 7 to 1 — has been so large that the Netherlands, Australia, New Zealand and Canada now have overall crime rates as high as that in the United States, and just as many criminals per capita.
Now of course, no one is 100% sure why this is happening. Some say things like neighborhood watches and new house security systems are making the difference. I tend to believe in another explanation: prosperity. Manufactured items are so cheaper and accessible that now it is really not worth it to break and enter a home to rob a TV, DVD or whatever.
That just shows how this whole debate on poverty and inequality is bogus. Wealth and quality of life have been increasing tremendously in many ways that are hard to measure. A poor person today has a much more comfortable life than a poor person in the 70s, and there is no easy way to measure that.
Thieves know better.
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March 24, 2008 at 5:25 am
Leonardo
Dizer que a prosperidade diminui o crime não é entrar na mesma lógica dos que dizem que a pobreza leva ao crime?
Na minha humilde opinião, a redução da criminalidade passa por leis penais fortes, polícia evitando que o crime aconteça, polícia combatendo o crime que já aconteceu, Judiciário competente e rápido, pena cumprida integralmente em presídios de segurança máxima, vagas em número suficiente nos presídios, etc. Não há um item destes sequer que funcione no Brasil, talvez isso diga mais sobre a situação americana atual – e a nossa – do que a economia.
March 24, 2008 at 8:27 am
Me
Leo
Logico que leis sao importantissimas. Mas acho que no caso de burglaries, a riqueza em termos de produtos influi muito. Sabe como eh, eh a historia de que as pessoas obedecem incentivos.
Mas eu entendo o que vc quis dizer. No geral, pobreza (ainda mais relativa) nao pode ser usada como desculpa para o crime.
March 25, 2008 at 11:27 am
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