Violence In the United States (Peer Response)

I have listened keenly to your fears about the level of violence in the U.S. I cannot deny that violent crimes are prevalent in our country, but often, headlines on social media make crime appear constant and unavoidable, and that is frightening. However, it is important that we look at what the national data says about crime so we may have a complete picture of this phenomenon. For us to get a bigger picture of this issue, it is imperative that we look at what the data says. According to the FBI’s Crime in the United States report, the year 2018 had approximately 1.2 million violent crimes, a 3% decrease from 2017. Not only this, but murder rates also saw a decline- 5 victims for every 100,000.

Data from the Bureau of Justice Statistics’ Criminal Victimization 2018 paints an even broader view of the issue. According to this report, 2018 saw a total of 6.4 million violent victimizations equating to roughly 23.2 victimizations per 1000 persons age 12 or older. While this figure may be high, it is only a small fraction of how it was in 1993 (This figure is down 71% from 1993 levels).

Looking at these trends, you can easily tell that the perception created in the media does not reveal the whole truth. Knowing these facts about crime makes reality less dire than media coverage suggests. In essence, a majority of Americans are not victims of serious violent crimes in a given year. Not only this, but as the data suggests, there has been a downward trend in violent crimes over the years, which shows great promise.