So if you know crime is down, why don't you explain why it's down. I'll start you off by saying this. The increase in incarceration has shown to have only very small influence on the reduction in crime.
Jim
Originally Posted by Mr MojoRisin
There are several theories as to why crime is down. Incarceration is generally thought to account for 10-20 percent of the overall reduction. Clinton increased funding in the 90s for police and departments across the country were able to put more cops on the street. Simply having more cops on the beat likely had an effect on the rates declining. Certain tactics like broken windows and hot spot policing have also been effective when they are used. Hot spot, when it was studied, actually worked AND it didn't simply move the crime to other areas. In other words, it wasn't a false reduction, it actually improved.
Different tactics have worked in different cities, but while they may all reduce crime, some can lead to mistrust between the police and the community they're policing. New York City, for example, saw a large drop in crime due to stop and frisk but that tactic created an adversarial relationship between the community and the police who were patrolling that community. So was it worth it? DC saw a significant decline using community-based policing and concentrated on building trust with the citizens. Other big cities have seen declines and didn't achieve it by putting more cops on the beat, but through a combination of community-based policing and the broken windows approach.
There's no one way to reduce crime. Each community is unique and several large cities have seen a drop and they all used different tactics.