UNITED STATES CRIMES
CRIME DEFINED
According to the Nevada Revised Statutes Chapter 217.035, “crime” is primarily defined as “an act or omission committed within this state which, if committed by an adult, is forbidden by law and punishable upon conviction by death, imprisonment, fine or other penal discipline.” In other words, crime—sometimes called “criminal offence”—is a wrongdoing classified by the state that is harmful not just to some individual but also to a community, society, or the state.
CRIME IN THE U.S.A.
Despite the dark history, crimes in the United States are in decline ever since the late 80s and many people, not just Americans, are still unaware of this fact. Many still believes that crimes are almost pandemic-like although the reports are saying otherwise.
From 1993 to 2016, there is a drop of crime by 48%. While sudden peaks are inevitable, the overall crime rate remains surprisingly low. In 1986, there were only 620 violent crimes per 100,000 people but 2016 took these into an even staggering plunge with only a 386.3 rate per 100,000 inhabitants. Aside from the violent crime, property crime such as burglary and theft also maintained its low numbers for 14 consecutive years, only amounting to 64.3% rate for 100,000 people in burglary cases and 326.5 for larceny-theft in 2016.
The states of Alaska, New Mexico, and Nevada are seeing a rise of violent crimes over the years. Alaska has recorded 804.2 violent crimes per 100,000 people, 702.5 per 100,000 individuals for New Mexico, and 678.1 violent crimes per 100,000 people for Nevada. And again, while these numbers can be daunting, they are still pretty tame. These plummeting numbers could be very well attributed to many factors, one is the passing of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement in 1994, the upsurge of workforce in the law enforcement, and the flourishing financial market.
As the country continues to progress, certain issues pertaining to crime are also rising fast. Today, crimes had taken different faces and can be found in even the most unconventional places.
What seems to be the one of the most prevalent topics that surround crime is gun control. While this is a hot debate ever since they have been started being used for crimes, gun control politics only intensified after gruesome events that made an impact to the public. The fact that the suspects were able to use gun carelessly sparked an outrage and started an intense bout against parties voting for tighter gun regulations and those who wants the same relaxed laws regarding it.
Hate crimes are also in a shocking growth these past few years. These are crimes committed against certain race, religion, and sexuality and are usually in a form of assault, theft, arson, and even vandalism. According to the data from Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University, there are 827 incidents of hate crimes in the major cities of the United States in 2017, an increase from the 690 crime rate recorded in 2016.
And since our society is saturated by technology, cybercrimes are also something that is expected to blow up. Theft can happen in the cyber world through means of hacking and identity theft. In the first half of 2018, United States companies suffered from 668 data breaches. Violent crimes are also possible through cybercrime. Cyberbullying can be the precursor to rage and the cyber world can also be a space to plan violent attacks.
Crimes in the United States might be historically low but that does not negate the fact that crime is still happening and is widespread. Its dwindling is no reason to not be alarmed as crime may it be a violent or a property crime can still happen.
Even with crime around every corner, the United States is still a fairly safe country thanks to its competent and almost infallible law and security forces. Still, crime is not a thing that can be easily predicted and it can happen to anyone without warning. If you find yourself involved in a crime as either the victim or the alleged perpetrator, you will need a competent criminal defense lawyer to represent you such as Attorney Ross Goodman! Contact him for his services if you are around Las Vegas.