Grace Beaulieu

Ms. Johnson

Expository Writing 110

05 March 2017

Crime: A Drastic Change in American Culture

Drug possession. Assault. Hate Crime. Robbery. Murder. These are just a few types of

crimes that people in American society are used to hearing about. We are used to hearing about

each because they are constantly spoken about on the news, written in headlines, or brought up in

political conversations. Crimes like the ones listed are portrayed through such methods because

they happen all of the time. Crime is a part of American culture that has changed radically

throughout the past few decades. However, it is believed by many that the rate of crime in the

U.S. has actually decreased and is continuing to do so, but it is truly increasing. Multiple reasons

behind this argument include violent crimes are becoming more prevalent, incarceration rates are

drastically rising, and drug crimes are becoming more common.

First off, crime rates are increasing because violent crimes in the United States are

happening more often. Violent crime is crime in which force is put or threatened upon the victim.

Crimes that fall under this category are murder/manslaughter, rape, robbery, and assault (FBI:

UCR). Statistics show that violent crime in the United States declined from the twentieth century

into the twenty-first century, but, according to the U.S. Department of Justice, violent crime is

now on the rise in the 2010s. To be more specific, about 3.5 million violent crimes occurred in

1990, dropped to about 2.5 million in 1999, and dropped again to 1.6 million in 2007. However

in 2015 the number of violent crimes that took place rose 1.7 percent over 2014 (Opposing
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Viewpoints in Context). The estimated number of these crimes in 2015 was 1,197,704. Although

violent crimes are beginning to increase in the U.S., the occurrence of other types of crime is

beginning to decrease. For example, from 2014 to 2015, the estimated number of property crimes

decreased 2.6 percent. Property crimes include burglary, motor vehicle theft, larceny, shoplifting,

vandalism, and arson (Wright & Jaques). It is thought by many that if less serious crimes like

these are decreasing, then crime in general is decreasing. However this is a misconception.

Violent crimes makeup around 38 percent of the crimes committed in the United States. This is a

large number for crimes as serious as murder, assault, or rape. Along with making up a large

portion of overall crime, violent crimes hold a larger grip on those they affect. This isnt to say

that other types of crimes dont affect someone in some way, but victims of violent crimes are

often affected in a more long-term or even permanent way (Victim Support). From this, it can be

gathered that because of the increase in violent crimes and the severity of them that general

crime rates are increasing, and they need to be controlled.

Secondly, the fact that incarceration rates are rising drastically shows that crime is

increasing. Statistics show that the incarceration rates in America have risen from about 450

people per 100,000 in 1994, to about 693 people per 100,000 in 2016 (Wagner & Walsh). One

reason for the spike in incarceration rates in the U.S. is something called mandatory minimum

sentencing. Mandatory minimum sentencing ensures that those convicted of crimes are punished

with at least the set minimum number of years in prison. Although these laws ensure this, they

are not agreed upon because they can put criminals in prison for unnecessary lengths of time,

therefore leading to a rise in incarceration rates (What Are Mandatory Minimum Sentencing

Laws). These laws, along with more awareness and zero tolerance policies, are part of an effort
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to control the amount of crime taking place in the United States. Because of these improved

efforts, more criminals are being caught, convicted, and placed behind bars. With more criminals

being caught then later put in prison, incarceration rates are shooting through the roof. This is

less of a reason for the increase in crime, but more of an example the increase taking place. It's

because of the increase in crime that there are more people choosing to commit crimes, and they

are therefore being caught and most likely incarcerated. Although, opposite of this it is argued

that there is no correlation between incarceration rates and crime. This is true in some cases. For

example, between 1991 and 1998 the incarceration rate in Texas rose 144 percent, while the

state's crime rate dropped 35 percent (Libaw). This supports the argument that even though a

state or country has a high incarceration, it I doesn't necessarily have an increasing crime rate.

However, studies show that crime rates in the U.S. are beginning to increase. They also show

that there is in fact a rise in incarceration rates. It can be concluded from this that at the moment,

the high incarceration rates in the United States are evidence that crime rates are increasing.

Finally, drug crimes are a reason for an increase in crime because they are becoming

more common. In 1971, President Richard Nixon declared the start of a war on drugs to

decrease the use and trafficking of illegal drugs in the United States. This war consisted of

increasing the presence of federal drug control agencies, and measures such as mandatory

minimum sentencing and zero tolerance policies (A Brief History of the Drug War). Shortly

after, beginning in 1980, about 41,000 Americans were incarcerated for drug offenses. In 2014

the number of those incarcerated rose to almost 500,000 (within the entire prison system, not just

federal). At the federal level, people there on drug convictions currently makeup nearly half

(48.6 percent) of the total prison population. Similar to that of violent crimes, the large amount
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of drug crimes is adding dramatically to the total amount of crime overall. This is part of what is

causing crime rates to stop decreasing and begin increasing. Opposite of this it is argued that

because drug crimes only makeup about nine percent of overall crime that they are not a reason

for the increase in crime. However, drug users are more likely to commit crimes than nonusers in

the general population (Drugs & Crime Data). Also, certain drug crimes, such as the use of

illegal drugs, can lead to the committing of other crimes, which is also causing overall crime to

increase (Alcohol, Drugs and Crime).

In conclusion, crime is a part of American culture that has faced a large change over the

past couple decades. Violent crimes are becoming to makeup a large portion of the total amount

of crimes, and incarceration rates are rising and are already some of the highest in the world.

Also, drug crimes are becoming more common in the United States, even after the efforts of the

war on drugs. These are all reasons that not only show how crime has changed, but also how it

is increasing in the United States. While looking into the future, it is important that the efforts to

control crime rates are improved even more. This could partly be done by the focus of the control

on a single type of crime at a time. For example, if most of the focus is put on crimes related to

drugs, then a large portion of crime is taken care of because drug-induced crimes would be

prevented. If crime rates are not controlled and continue to increase, then giving into crime could

be the only way to stop it.