Crime at the present is at an all time high, it seems that each evening that you turn on the news there is headlining story of someone being murdered, robbed, assaulted, or harassed. Right now, countless numbers of violent acts are being committed and rapidly increasing the overall crime rate. This may sound bizarre, but many people believe that just by avoiding urban communities they can decrease their chances of becoming victims of a crime. This theory is not true whatsoever. Although, crime does seem to happen more frequently within urban areas, the location of a person is not what determines crime. It is a common assumption made by many Americans that the crime rate is much higher in urban areas than in suburban and rural communities. This is an opinion that over the years has without a doubt proven to be completely true. According to the Federal Bureau Investigation statistics, the crime rate in urban societies is higher than the surrounding areas. The approximate average crime rate from 1998-2004 in urban areas accounted for 64% of overall crimes and suburban and rural communities held the remaining 36%. Approximately one million people (5% of the United States population) are victims of a crime each year. Nearly 1.5 million of these Americans are victims of violent crimes. The Southern region of the United States possesses the highest crime rates out of all other regions within the country. Crimes in the United States range from petty theft, such as shoplifting to murder, but the five crimes that are making major contributions to the overall crime rate are burglary, theft, murder, rape, and robbery. Violent crimes began to decrease in 2006, reversing the upward climb of the previous two years according to statistics released by the FBI last year. Despite the fact that the crime rate had fallen in 2006, it began to increase again significantly in 2007.
References: Merriam-Webster 's collegiate dictionary (11th ed.). (2003). Springfield, MA: Merriam-Webster Federal Bureau of Investigation. (2008) Crime rate comparisons: suburban, urban, and rural, (Publication No. 2883). Washington, DC: U.S. Federal Government Printing Office. Federal Bureau of Investigation. (2008) Top five leading crimes in the United States, Washington, DC: U.S. Federal Government Printing Office. Jackson, T. (24 October 2007). Killing Latest Case To Highlight Va. Pyschiatric Issues. Washington Post, p. B01 Anerson, Gail, Biological Influences on Criminal Behavior, Simon Fraser University Publications, CRC Press, November 2, 2006 Harlow, Michael, in Psychiatric Services, A Journal of the American Psychiatric Association, Vol. 59, No. 2, February 2008 Zimmerman, Stephanie, May 5, 2001, Crime in the Suburbs in Chicago, Chicago Sun-Times, p. E07