Unexpected Crime Decline in the US 1990-2000

America has been present at the top of the list of the most violent nations and violence has been a major theme in public discussion. However, there have been many theories put forward to explain the unexpected crime decline in 1990s. In the US, the crime rates fell sharply, yet what the experts expected was different.  According to the Uniform Crime Report, beginning in 1992, aggregate rates declined steadily to less than 6 percent 100.000 in 1999. This is a level which wasn’t seen since1960s. There are indeed important factors which contribute the fluctuations in the crime rates. Between 1965 and 1970s, America went through a decline in legitimacy of social and governmental authority. This suffering period took place by the civil right movement and the harsh opposition to the war in Vietnam. However, after such a turbulent period, this sharp decline gets harder to explain. “These declines occurred without warning: leading experts were predicting an explosion in crime in early 1990s, precisely the point when crime rates began to plunge.”(Levitt, 163) most popular but least significant theories put forward are the strong economy of the 1990s, gun control laws, changing policing strategies and increased use of penalty.”(Levitt, 163). Yet, these factors are still less significant when compared to the underlying causes.

 “We may never learn the exact reasons for this sudden turnaround but researchers have proposed a number of hypotheses. Explanations for the crime decline include the influence of a strong economy during the late 1990s, growing cultural intolerance for violent behavior, changes in the market for illegal drugs, new policies to regulate access to the firearms, and other criminal justice innovations.”(Travis,8)