I look forward to reading Steven Pinker’s heralded new book on violence. Its message, that violence has sharply declined in human history, has been received with gasps of amazement – at least by The New York Times Book Review and by NPR. Pinker appears to have done a thorough job of summarizing the findings – … Continue reading »
homicide
A crime puzzle: Violent crime declines in America
Violent crime went down in America again last year. According to preliminary statistics from the FBI, the number of violent crimes dropped by about 5 percent from 2008 to 2009. Given population growth, that means that the rate of violent crime dropped even more. (So did property crime.) This is a puzzle because (a) violent … Continue reading »