The latest Uniform Crime Report by the FBI indicates that crime is down in all index categories. Except for murder, which is down for all but two population groups, all population groups experienced declines in crime. Some of these declines are substantial. This is very good news for working people.
The poorer decline percentage in murder is attributable to regional variation.
After significantly rising in several categories under Obama, crime has been in decline during Trump’s presidency. Where there were already declines, they continue and in many cases at a faster pace. I discuss the matter of crime under the Obama administration (and more broadly) in my essay “Demoralization and the Ferguson Effect.” Go here for my previous reporting on the Uniform Crime Report.
The reduction in crime is associated with a reduction in immigration and unemployment and an increase in wages. As many readers know, I am a criminologist, and one of the chief theories in criminology is the association of crime with material deprivation and demoralization. Both of these sources of crime are lessening, with the result a substantial decline in crime and violence in America.
Tightening labor markets are translating into higher wages. Wages are rising faster for lower income workers than their more affluent counterparts. Blacks and Hispanics are seeing rates of joblessness at their lowest levels in decades. Poor and minority communities are most at risk for street crime and violence.
Significantly Trump’s policies have reduced immigration from more than one million immigrants annually under Obama to presently fewer than 600,000 immigrants annually. By reducing supply in the face of growing demand, American workers are benefiting. Higher wages translate to the higher standards of living. Higher standards of living reduce material deprivation and raise the importance of conformity. This softens criminogenic environments.
Although not as powerfully as the effect of improving labor market, as immigrants are a source of crime per se, substantially reducing their numbers also has a beneficial effect on crime rates. Here is a sampling of my essays on this: What is the Relationship of Immigration to Crime? Democrats are Being Disingenuous. The Northern Triangle, the Migrant Flow, and the Risk of Criminal Violence.
Did you hear? Trump renegotiated NAFTA. Trump pulled the US out of the TTP. China is on the ropes. You probably didn’t hear about this. You’ve been watching establishment media.
freedom and reason 