Is it getting worse or is it just my imagination? Is violence in America increasing ...

[wake.up.america]

exponentially, or is it just getting more coverage in the media?

[HiPointDem]

1. depends on when your comparison point is.

I think it's interesting how traffic fatalities drop like a rock in 2008.

[Comrade Grumpy]

18. Do you think traffic fatalities dropped because of the economy?

That would be my guess.

[HiPointDem]

20. mine too. and i suspect the economy may have something to do with the rise in gun death. certainly

suicides are up.

[Niceguy1]

22. The chart is misleading as it isn't porportional

to the size of the population. So comparing current data to past data is very inaccurate. It would be better to show firearm homicides per 100,000 which show a reduction over past years.

[HiPointDem]

23. it states the number of gun deaths per year. it does not mislead; it does what it says.

but yes, since the population is expanding, gun deaths per capita would show a decline.

[Niceguy1]

24. Then you agree that the problem is decreasing

as the chance of getting killed by a firearm is actually getting smaller every year as per the data.

[HiPointDem]

25. i don't agree with anything as i haven't seen that data. i looked for it and couldn't find it. so

i don't know.

i don't think the current situation is some kind of special crisis, though -- that can be demonstrated by the historical deaths/year data alone.

[temporary311]

2. It's your imagination.

Not entirely your fault, though. It almost seems as if the coverage of violent crimes in media increases as violent crimes actually being committed decreases.

[rightsideout]

3. Actually, I think crime is falling

It's just the big stories get alot of airplay and of course the internet bombards you with every single incident that happens probably making it seem like it's getting bad.

[elleng]

4. It appears to be getting worse

and, imo, partial reason IS all the media coverage. I'm not sure that we'll ever know all the facts.

I suspect that the coverage itself has spawned more violence, as in, 'copy cats,' and the coverage may be providing public access to info previously not available.

[HiPointDem]

6. worse compared to when?

[elleng]

9. 2000.

[HiPointDem]

11. lol. of course. maybe some jobs would help, eh?

POVERTY RATES FELL IN 2000 AS UNEMPLOYMENT REACHED 31-YEAR LOW

The economy grew for the ninth consecutive year in 2000, with the unemployment rate falling to 4.0 percent, its lowest level in more than three decades.

http://www.cbpp.org/cms/?fa=view&id=677

[elleng]

13. lol?

[HiPointDem]

14. lol, of course you picked 2000.

[Archae]

15. Notice the Reagan/Bush/Clinton crime rates?

During the Clinton years when the RW was constantly whining about Bill Clinton's "immorality" the rime rate dropped like a rock.

The crime rate began climbing again, during the Bush II years.

[HiPointDem]

17. nadir for gun deaths was also lowest unemployment in 30 years: 4%.

[freshwest]

5. More coverage. And more with larger guns than before.

DV, robberies and gang shootings have been going on for many years. In a way, the coverage feeds the cycle of both wanting to control guns and wanting to buy them. But it's reality, and it's part of our national fabric. The tens of thousands of gun deaths a year are one at time. Wearing out our community resources, destroying families and futures. The root causes of all of these things is still not being addressed, poverty, lack of support for those whose lives are being torn apart by economic uncertainty, drugs and other problems that cause people to do this. You can't heal without getting to the wound and cleaning it and that's painful.

[raidert05]

7. Don't Worry

Americas MSM will get ADD again and go off on something else, its definitely getting more media coverage.

[kestrel91316]

8. Your garden variety everyday violent crime has been

on the wane for probably 15 years, IIRC. High profile dramatic crimes by disgruntled "law abiding citizens" and deranged madmen for personal or political gain are probably dramatically increasing. But maybe it's just increased media attention.

When there aren't any blonde little girls or maidens missing the MSM has got to have SOMETHING to broadcast about 24/7 since they can't bother to be actual journalists anymore.

[Demo_Chris]

10. It's media coverage.

Respectfully, sometimes you have to learn to just tune the crazy out. It's not healthy. It doesn't do you or anyone else any good. Hell, it's doesn't do any good to fixate on it when you're the one tasked with mopping up the blood.

Some people like to watch happy movies or whatever, but I have a different approach. Any time I start to feel like things are compete messed up here, I look at videos like this to remind me of the suffering others are going through and to put my own petty problems in perspective:

[farminator3000]

12. i swear i just pasted this straight from google. so, um, well, there's your answer?

U.S. violent crime down for fifth straight year - CNN.com
www.cnn.com/2012/10/29/justice/us-violent-crime/index.html
Oct 29, 2012 – Violent crime in the United States fell for the fifth consecutive year in 2011 with murder, rape and robbery all going down.

U.S. violent crime up for first time in years - CNN.com
www.cnn.com/2012/10/17/us/violent-crime/index.html
Oct 17, 2012 – The rate of U.S. violent crime went up last year for the first time in nearly two decades due to a jump in assaults.

what the hell is going on at CNN?

http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/crime-in-the-u.s/2012/preliminary-semiannual-uniform-crime-report-january-june-2012/data-tables/table_1_percent_change_by_population_group_2012.xls

in the first half of 2012 ^^^ murder and rape down slightly, everything else up, overall.

the biggest jump is arson in cities of 25,000-49,999 people. hmm.

violent crime up 1.9% overall. of course those are the ones the fbi knows about...

[HiPointDem]

16. gun deaths are the best statistic. there's typically a body and at least one person who cares.

[LeftInTX]

19. You know what there seems to less of these days?

Serial killers - their crimes are usually sexual in nature

[HiPointDem]

21. now that you mention it, that's interesting.

[davidn3600]

26. According to the FBI, violent crime has been slowly decreasing

We are just hearing about more incidents than we have before. With cable news and the internet, we are getting crime stories from all over the country when before the only thing you used to hear about is what was on your local news.

[MrSlayer]

27. 24/7 coverage.

It seems much worse than it is.

[Zoeisright]

28. Violent crime is down, but

deaths caused by guns is constant.

[Exultant Democracy]

29. Violence not only in America, but in the world as a whole is at an all time low

if you look at the percentages.