Not that you’d know it from listening to Barry “Almighty”,
or any of the Democrat contenders for his current position, or, for that
matter, any of the many Democrat minions in the state-controlled media, but the
fact is, gun violence in America is actually on the decline compared to the
past 30 years. And why might that be,
you ask? Well, it’s according to
research from the Pew Research Center, the FBI, and the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention that it is thanks in part to the increased number and
effectiveness of…wait for it…police officers.
According to FBI statistics on violent crime rates,
America is becoming the safest it has been since 1960, when the FBI began
recording data. Although the most recent data is in 2014, the overall violent
crime and murder/non-negligent manslaughter rates are dropping steadily,
suggesting America is only getting safer.
In 2014, the violent crime rate was 365.5, making America the safest it
has been since 1970, and the murder and non-negligent manslaughter rate was 4.5
out of 100,000, making 2014 the safest year in terms of murders since 1960.
And it’s according to the data assembled that America’s
least safe historical year is 1980, when the murder rate reached an all-time
high of 10.2. Now as you might recall that was at the end of that very bleak
time in American history known as, “The Carter Years.” And it has been since that period of our
history that the murder rate in this country has dropped steadily — albeit with
a slight uptick in 1991 — but an otherwise stable trend. But to listen to any of those on the left one
would think that what has been taking place is nothing more than a worsening
epidemic of gun violence.
So it would seem to at least appear that our much
maligned police officers have perhaps been doing a bit more than simply running
around and routinely shooting any stray young black males that they may
encounter. Imagine that! You see, it’s according to FBI data from 2014
that shows overall homicides and usage of guns for homicide has decreased
steadily over the past four years, with 8,124 homicides committed by guns in
2014 and 9,199 in 2009, again suggesting not only are homicides decreasing, but
the use of guns to commit them is decreasing as well.
And it was in writing for something call The
Washington Post, WonkBlog, that Max
Ehrenfreund reported five explanations for
the decrease, including an increase of federal funding to police officers, who
are then able to more effectively stop violent crimes. In 1994, ‘BJ’ Clinton’s
major crime bill granted federal funding to police stations across the country
that allowed them to hire 100,000 officers. Ehrenfreund adds police using
computers and a better economy, among others, to his list, arguing they account
for, respectively, 11 percent and 10 to 11 percent of the drop.
And it’s Economist Steven Levitt who thinks that
larger police forces are behind what has caused crime decreases of anywhere
from 5 to 6 percent, especially in New York City, in which crime dropped 93
percent between 1990 and 2011. This precipitous drop is due in part to
ramped-up policing measures by city leadership.
Either way you look at it the reason for the decrease comes down to our
police officers. Men and women who put
their lives on the line every single day. It’s these people who leave for the ‘office’
every day not knowing if they’ll come home at the end of the day.
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