CrimeUSA Where America Gets Its Crime

Violent Crime in America
By Sheri Gray

For families and individuals residing in America the threat of violent crime is a fear that we all have to live with. Just pick up your local newspaper or turn on your T.V. and see the headlines of murder, rape and assaults reported from coast to coast. There is an answer to the realization that you may be a victim of a violent crime, and that is to be prepared to defend yourself should you find yourself in a situation that warrants it.

A crime of violence or violent crime is a crime in which the attacker or offender uses or threatens to use violence or violent force against the victim. These include crimes in which the violent act is the objective of the attack, such as murder, along with crimes in which violence is the means to an end, such as robbery. Males are the primary victims of crimes of violence, with the exception of rape which accounts for 6 percent of all violent crimes.

There are four offenses that are considered to be violent crimes; they are murder and non-negligent manslaughter, forcible rape, robbery, and aggravated assault. These violent crimes may also involve the use of force or the threat of force.

In 2004, there were an estimated 1,367,009 violent crimes reported in the United States. Of these, aggravated assaults comprised over 62 percent of all reported crimes, robbery over 29 percent, forcible rape or sexual assault over 6 percent, and murder comprises a little over 1 percent of all reported violent crimes.

Here are a few alarming statistics about Violent Crime in the U.S.

1. Over 94,000 forcible rapes were reported in 2004 an increase of 4.9 percent since the year 2000. Approximately 6 out of 100 females in the United States will be a victim of forcible rape.

2. Over 16,000 murders were reported in 2004 an increase of 3.5 percent since 2000, but showed a decline in the number of murders reported in 2003.

3. There were over 850,000 aggravated assaults reported in the United States in 2004. This crime usually has the highest percentage of incidents reported each year. But research has shown a steady decrease in aggravated assault occurrences for the last 11 years.

4. In 2004 there were over 400,000 robberies reported in the USA, robbery is defined by the Uniform Crime Reporting Program (UCR) as the taking or attempting to take anything of value from the care, custody, or control of a person or persons by force or threat of force or violence and by putting the victim in fear.

Now that you are aware of these statistics, and the need for people in America to have the ability to protect themselves from violent crimes, or if you are concerned about your personal safety or the safety of your family, then stay alert and be prepared and visit us at www.safeselfdefense.com for all of you personal protection needs.

Fight Back " Don't Be A Victim!

Sheri Gray is writer and webmaster for J & S Enterprises and online force in the personal self-defense products market. Serving the industry since 2004 J & S Enterprises offers Tasers, Stun Guns, Pepper Sprays, and Mace Defense Sprays. For more information on the products offered by J & S Enterprises and a link to check for Sex Offenders in your area go to: http://www.safeselfdefense.com

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Crime in the United States
By Phillip Butler

Crime in the U.S. is still on the rise! Despite the billions of dollars allocated to prevention, many citizens are still being victimized. We all have distrust and anxiety over the prospect of becoming the unwitting prey of criminals. Security system sales increase, police presence increases, car and other alarm sales skyrocket, and news stories about crime abound, but modest reports emanate from every agency. All these indicators point to a reality quite different from the one we are given by authorities.

The FBI and other governmental agencies are constantly releasing numbers reflecting that crime is under control. This is particularly true of the White House statistics, as these numbers minimize the impact of all types of crime. We hope that no great conspiracy is being leveled on the American people, so most of us just block out our normal sensory instincts and go about our hectic routines.

If you are a -Baby Boomer", just think about the crime you have seen over the past 2 decades. You should easily be able to recognize indications that the numbers don't match up. Sales of home security systems and other security devices have grown exponentially over the last 20 years. Logic would suggest that these people either bought a security system because they had been victimized, or that they knew someone who had. Car makers now routinely produce millions of automobiles with anti-theft systems! This is another indication that people are afraid of being robbed. Why would car companies add hundreds of dollars to the price of a vehicle if there were no real danger of it being stolen? Even using the numbers supplied by various federal agencies are not positive. Violent crime in 2005 rose 2.3% in the United States. Murders in the same period increased 3.4% according to the U.S. Department of Justice, and robberies were up 3.9% to 417,122 instances.

Crime in the South is the most disturbing new statistic, as crime in this region has grown more than in any other part of the country. The region has roughly 36% of the population, but almost half the crime! The northeast region of the country has about 15% of the population, and about 15% of nationwide crime. The southern region has approximately 36% of the population, but the violent crime rate is 45%. We have always thought that most crime took place in the big cities of the North, but obviously something is changing.

The U.S. crime rank internationally is an even more disturbing issue. Our government has painted these numbers positively to project a better outlook (cooking perhaps). If we look at the total number of crimes committed in any of the top 61 nations, the U.S. has 4 times the crimes of the next closest country. In the United States last year, there were 23,677,800 crimes! The next closest country was Germany with something over 6 million crimes; while the combined total crimes in Great Britain, Germany, France, Russia, Italy, and Spain were less than those in the United States!

The United States accounts for 34% of all the crimes committed on the planet! Here are a couple of sites to review interesting statistics, or to get information and help in protecting the average citizen from criminals.

I am a freelance writer and board member of Ento-Guard, Inc. Ento-guard is a retail organization for home security and non-lethal self defense products.
Our Web Site is: http://www.ento-guard.com
LLC, All rights reserved. Free reprint rights with proper credit to the author
See also: http://www.nationmaster.com/red/pie/cri_tot_cri-crime-total-crimes

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