Relationship between Geographical Characteristics and Crimes Trends - Assignment Example

? CRIME RATES In the U.S., the number of deaths, property loss, and injuries caused by crime is higher than any other natural disaster.Crime rates are high in large metropolitan areas. The most affected being the young, minorities, poor, and male residents. Crimes rates have recently gone down in the U.S. according to various reports. Several changes in the distribution and makeup of the metropolitan populations are attributed to these declines. Have these changes played any role in these declines? What is the distribution pattern of these declines among communities? What are the forces behind these declines? How do the rates of crime in the U.S. compare with other countries? This paper will address these questions through analysis of crime data from the U.S. Census Bureau and the FBI. The aim will be to paint a picture of the relationship between geographical characteristics and crimes trends. In addition, the paper will outline the structure of the PowerPoint presentation for this topic and explain the rationale behind the outlined structure. According to various agencies including the FBI and the U.S. Census Bureau, the rates of crime in the U.S. for the past decade have sharply declined. This presentation will focus on explicating on the proclaimed decrease in crime rates, analyzing crime data from the FBI and the U.S. Census Bureau to ascertain reasons behind this decline, and analyzing the crime trends in relation to demographics. The presentation will first focus on the crime rates data between 1990 and 2010 in some of the largest metropolis based on the reports by the FBI and the U.S. Census Bureau.It will analyze the changes in the rates of rime of this period. During this period, propertyand violent crime significantly declined by about 46 percent and 30 percent respectively. Demographically, the rate of crime in suburbs was lower than in the cities. In almost all large metropolis, crime rates difference between the suburbs and the cities declined by close to two thirds from 1990 to 2010 (FBI, 2010). In most of the cases, the crime rate either fell or rose at once. Suburban communities with a high-density population of older people had the greatest drop in crime rates. Both high-density suburbs and cities registered a drop in violent crime rates. The presentation will then focus on the reasons for the decline in crime rates and impacts of this decline. The decline in crime rates saw diversification of communities, which led to the weakening of the relationship between community demographics and crime. Over this period, the relationship between crime and the characteristics of the community such as the proportion of the population that is poor, Hispanic, foreign-born or black, considerably diminished. For instance, property crime in black communities reduced by half, and violent crime in Hispanic communities disappeared. In comparison with the past, metropolitan areas are safer today. These trends of crime rate decreasehavelargely benefitted more urbanized, more minority, poor and older communities. This is the reason behind the decline inthe difference and contrast between the suburbs and the cities. Understanding this relationship underscores the notion that crime is not only an urban problem, but a metropolitan too. Structure of the PowerPoint Presentation The PowerPoint presentation to that will be used in this topic will be constructed in such a way that allows the audience to understand how crime rates have changed over the years, how and what forces are behind the changes in crime rate, and what difference is there between the U.S. and other countries in terms of crime rate. Introduction Slides The introduction part wil purpose to give a summary background account of the crime rates in the U.S between 1990 and 2010. This will be done by analyzing the FBI and the U.S. Census Bureau crime data. Body Slide The body slides will analyze and outline the decline in crime rates in the U.S. in last two decades as depicticted by the crime data fro the U.S. Census Bureau and the FBI. It will anayle the reasons behind this decline specifically focusing on the demographic aspects of both cities and suburbs. The body slides will also provide an account outlining the contrasts between the rates of crime in the U.S. and other countries within the same period. Supporting Notes For all the slides, supporting notes detailing the outlined points will be provided where appropriate. This will be to assist the audience follow the presentation better since not all the points can be explained during a presentation. Appendices Appendices will be provided to include the statistical data that the presentation will be based on. This will include any tables referenced, graphs, and/or images used. Comparison and Contrast between the Crime rates in the U.S. and other countries around the world The rates of crime in America compared to other countries in the world depend on several factors such as similarity in wealth and nature of the crime. This comparison is difficult since definition in significance of crime varies across nations. Countries such as Canada have almost similar definitions of constitutes crime. This comparison will therefore be between America and Canada. According to the data on reported crimes, the United States has higher rate of violent crime as compared to Canada, which has a higherrate of property crime. The trend of crimes between America and Canada has been quite similar over the years. Therewereabout 542 homicides in Canada which resulted in 1.8 homicides per 100,000 populations whereas the U.S.had about 15,517 homicides resulting in a 5.5 rate which was about 3 times more than that of Canada (Kneebone,E. &Raphael, S., 2011). Over the past decade, both Canada and the U.S. have experienced a drastic drop in the rate of homicide crime. The most impacted has been the U.S., which close to 20 years ago had its homicide rate close to four times that of Canada. Aggravated assault rate in Canada was two times less than that in the U.S. within the similar period. The rate of robbery crimes in the U.S. was about 65% higher than in Canada. Of this, 16% in Canada involved firearms compared to 41% in the U.S. Comparing data related to arrest charges; the U.S. had higher rates compared to Canada for careless driving, prostitution and drug offences. In comparing the rate of crime in major metropolis in both countries, homicides rates were much higher in American metropolis than in Canadian metropolis. References FBI (2011).Uniform Crime Reports. Retrieved December 1, 2011, from http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/ucr Kneebone,E.,&Raphael, S. (2011) City and Suburban Crime Trends in Metropolitan America. Retrieved December 1, 2011, from http://www.brookings.edu/papers/2011/0526_metropolitan_crime_kneebone_raphael U.S Census Bureau. (2011) The 2012 Statistical Abstract: Crimes and Crime Rates. Retrieved December 1, 2011, fromhttp://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/cats/law_enforcement_courts_prisons/crimes_and_crime_rates.html Read More