Is there more violence today or do we just hear about every incident?

[NightWatcher]

I'm not advocating any position in this question and have no motivation (pro or anti anything), but I wonder if there are more violent stories like we have heard about recently or are we just hearing about every single isolated nutbag when they snap?

I realize that in troubled times the numbers are going to be slightly higher as are murder rates in summers that are hotter than others.

Are we more violent or more informed?

[WannaJumpMyScooter]

1. I think we hear about every incident

three or four times

[BlooInBloo]

2. Both. More guns = more gun shootings. More news = hear about them more.

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

31. Actually Murders by firearm are down significantly.

Year / Murders by firearm of any type
1981 / 15,089
1991 / 17,746
2001 / 11,348
2007 / 10,086

2007 was the most recent year available. The figures are from the CDC and the FBI.

David

[Statistical]

3. Less violent.

The overall crime rate is lower than it was 10 years ago, 20 years ago, even 30 years ago.
Same w/ violent crime rate, same w/ the homicide rate.

Of course stories on how safe we are tend not to sell ad space.

[NightWatcher]

7. DING!, if it bleeds, it leads

[Democracyinkind]

4. Informed people can get pretty fuckin' violent.

[angstlessk]

8. MISinformed..sorry you are

WRONG...INFORMED POEPLE ARE NOT VIOLENT...

[Democracyinkind]

10. Then we have a different a view what informed means. or violent. choose one. please yourself.

[angstlessk]

21. you mean informed that Obama will take all your guns??? or informed...seems gun taking is all agog

and violent...seems money not so much?

[Democracyinkind]

23. Informed in the sense that not all killings are commited because

people are ill-informed. Granted the case of people wanting to kill cuz they're "gettin ur guns" doesn't fall into that category.

But Josef Mengele does.

[angstlessk]

25. you make no sense at all...informed they just lost their jobs so their kids and wife are better off

dead???? sorry the killings that have happened are not of the 'informed'..but of the 'insane'...

[Democracyinkind]

30. Yeah I agree. But those are not the only killings that happened.

[doctor jazz]

5. Instant internet "news." Over and over and over and

ad nauseum.

[angstlessk]

6. horrid economy + reight wing blustering + job losses + horrid MSM = more deaths

and since guns are so prevalent...most are by guns in this country...knives are handy in other countries.

[The Straight Story]

9. Well, ask yourself this

Millions of guns, knives, etc out there. We don't hear stories about people not doing bad things because that is, well, expected and boring.

Why do such stories grab our attention? To me it is because we don't expect people will use any means (whether guns or fists) to harm others, and harming others is seen as bad, abnormal, and is therefore worth covering.

There were people shot today. There were spouse's abused. There were drunk drivers caught and some not caught who killed someone else.

What makes one story worth covering (and if you are in the news business for profit, that is something you ask a lot)?

Do a google news search on shooting, stabbing, beating, etc and you will have something to keep you busy.

BUT also go to http://www.usnpl.com and read small town papers and you will see some really good news stories, because to some covering things like a grandma knitting socks for homeless kids merits more coverage than the negative things people do.

We see society as going downhill and the news helps us believe it. Maybe it is because we don't want to know about the good people do (and look at the coverage, for example, that churches and schools get in the msm - almost always only show up when something bad is related, small local papers have a lot of nice articles about great teachers, how the church is helping the community, and so on).

[fascisthunter]

11. probably Happens more Often Than What We See

A lot shit happens in the city and just doesn't get reported on, and law enforcement likes it that way.

[Democracyinkind]

13. It's too much to report. We have our memes to sort out the less entertaining.

[Democracyinkind]

12. " the culture of fear" by Barry Glassner adresses this question. good read.

my stony head seems to recall something in the lines of 6 percent decrease in violent crime and 600 percent increase in reporting about violent crime in the reviewed period of time.

[fascisthunter]

19. thanks for that

I used to witness violence growing up and nothing got reported. After a while, you figure stuff like this just happens so often, even the media couldn't possibly keep up with it. And I'm not giving the media a break... Their number one objective is profit, not inform.

[luvspeas]

14. I just did some math...

In 2007 there were almost 17,000 murders in the US. That comes to about 45-46 per day. Usually, many of the current stories would be page 3 below the fold (not that they are not sad). I think the media is getting traction on the violence spin right now for a number of reasons...general anxiety and uncertainty, increased wacko fringe anger over a liberal African-American president, increased gun sales, and a decline in 24/7 news obsession. I lived in the Chicago area when the Tribune (I think) printed all the murders on the front page every day in order to draw attention to the gang violence in the 80's. There were about this many deaths just in Chicago!!!

[slackmaster]

15. FBI preliminary report for 2008 shows violent crime down 3.5% compared to 2007

http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/2008prelim/index.html

[The Straight Story]

16. And yet, more people own guns and have a lot of ammo

go figure...

[Statistical]

18. Impossible.

Violent Crime rate has fallen for 20 years as has homicide rate.
yet # of guns in circulation has risen from 200mil to 350mil in same 2 decades.

More guns & Less Violence?

One stat must be wrong.

[The Straight Story]

20. People need to blame something for violence, and an inanimate piece of steel is an easy target

:)

[slackmaster]

29. I don't believe the number of guns or the rate of gun ownership has much to do with crime rates

What matters is WHO has them.

[Caliman73]

17. Depends on the measurement

If we are talking straight numbers then you would say there are more incidents of violence. I think that as the population grows and more people share less space, yes we see more violence. If you see it relative to population levels then no. I think the level of violence is relatively flat. I believe you are correct that the general atmosphere tends to create spikes in violence as stress levels increase similar to how high temperatures in urban areas tend to spike violence locally. Overall though I don't believe that the average level of violence has increased.

I think that more and more media coverage is given to violent incidents although by no means is every incident reported. Just the most sensational incidents of violence are reported. I would also hesitate to call it being "informed". I would say it was being "sold". The phrase, "It's like a train wreck, you just can't look away" holds true. People gravitate towards sensational stories of violence. It sells advertising. News editors, especially in a 24 hour news cycle want to capture as many viewers as possible and sensational stories that play to people's fears and voyeurism will do just that.

[Statistical]

27. flat? flat like my 401K maybe

20 years (2007 compared to 1987)
----------------------
Homicide rate down 33%
Violent crime rate down 27%

10 years (2007 compared to 1998)
----------------------
Homicide rate down 11%
Violent crime rate down 18%

5 years (2007 compared to 2003)
----------------------
Homicide rate down 1%
Violent crime rate down 2%


Those numbers are through 2007.

FBI only has preliminary # for 2008 but it looks like another 3.5% reduction in violent crime and 4.5% reduction in homicide. Usually by mid year FBI has final # for previous year.

[Caliman73]

28. Sounds good to me.

Thank you for the information.

[Hannah Bell]

33. Japan is one of the most crowded countries in the world, & Tokyo one of the most crowded cities.

Tokyo (pop 12 million or so) has fewer murders than new orleans (pop 300,000 or so). Japan has one of the lowest murder rates in the US.

Countries in densely populated Europe mostly have lower murder rates than the comparatively sparsely populated US. Etc.

"crowding" isn't the cause of violence.

[Caliman73]

35. you are correct

It is just another factor among many that increase the risk of violence.

[aikoaiko]

22. well at a conservative 15000 gun homocides/year thats about 43/day.

I'd say we don't hear about the vast majority of deaths by firearms usually.

Sad, really, regardless of one's position on gun rights and gun laws.

But then again we hear even less about 40000 - 50000 deaths due to car accidents.

Sadder still.

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

32. They have actually been fairly consistently at about 10,000 gun homicides per year since 2003.

http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/cius2007/offenses/expanded_information/data/shrtable_07.html

[depakid]

24. One major difference is in the magnitude of events

Mundane shootings in LA rarely ever get a mention. Mass shootings as we've seen INCREASING IN FREQUENCY over the past several years- end especially over the past 6 month months are a different and more disturbing phenomenon- and would have and did get reported when they occurred.

My little spurious note on that was that they tended to happen about every several- then down to two or three weeks for the past few years (an alraming rate) -intersperced with major tainted food (or product) recalls in between.

Now, mass shootings have well overtaken the number (and the timing of) food and product recalls.

Anyone telling you that this "is just the media" is full of crap.

[Celeborn Skywalker]

26. The murder rate is the lowest

it has been since the earlier seventies. I do believe, though I'm not positive, that mass/random shooting are much more prevalent now.

[Hannah Bell]

34. there's been an uptick in public mass shootings since the 60s, speeding up in the 80s

according to some data i saw.

1900-1965: 21 mass public shootings in the US.

1966-1999: 95 mass public shootings in the US.

http://wcr.sonoma.edu/v6n1/manuscripts/duwe.pdf