U.S. Incarceration and Crime Rates Continue to Fall in Tandem
Homicide rates are the key number to track. Other crime statistics have big reporting problems. Police can easily not report a crime (especially when there is pressure to make the stats look good), people stop calling police if they think the police won&#x27;t do anything, etc. But it is very hard to hide a body.<p>And homicide rates have risen substantially in the last two years (up 10.4% in 2015, and projected for 13.1% this year). These are the biggest increases in a generation.<p><a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.copinthehood.com&#x2F;2016&#x2F;09&#x2F;spin-this-biggest-murder-increase-in-45.html" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.copinthehood.com&#x2F;2016&#x2F;09&#x2F;spin-this-biggest-murder...</a><p><a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.copinthehood.com&#x2F;2016&#x2F;11&#x2F;homicide-is-up-and-its-not-trumps-fault.html" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.copinthehood.com&#x2F;2016&#x2F;11&#x2F;homicide-is-up-and-its-n...</a><p>I&#x27;m not sure if the de-incarceration is responsible for the rise in crime. From my following, it seems like the police backing off in response to protests, riots, and consent decrees has a bigger impact. And I&#x27;m not a fan of prison -- there are better ways to deter crime and to keep violent criminals away from normal people. But I do notice that most times when I see a murder in the news, and the suspect has been apprehended, the suspect has a disturbingly long wrap sheet and I&#x27;ve wondered to myself, &quot;how was this person allowed back out into civilized society.&quot;