NCJ Number
139437
Journal
International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology Volume: 36 Issue: 3 Dated: (Fall 1992) Pages: 187-201
Date Published
1992
Length
15 pages
Annotation
The authors review the crime rate in major U.S. cities during the past decade and then present a statistical analysis of the murder rate in eight American cities from 1965 to 1990.
Abstract
Findings of the longitudinal analysis indicate that crime is rampant in American cities, that there is an interplay between mobility and the crime rate, and that the widespread use of crack-cocaine coincides with an increased crime rate. A historical perspective on violence in society is presented, along with a brief review of important socio- juridical developments that occurred during the first part of the 20th century. Socio-psychological factors leading to violent crime are discussed, and the apparent impotence of social agencies, police departments, and courts in dealing with crime is examined. Some of the conflicting and counterproductive ways society currently deals with offenders are considered. The authors believe that the lack of a socially educating, morally cohesive, affectively bound, and economically self-sufficient family breeds social incompetence and crime among a large stratum of the population. They conclude that the organization and disintegration of the American family unit must be dealt with in order to control the soaring crime rate in the United States. 50 references and 1 table