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Show Section 3 Environmental Risks Violent Crime Historically, the causes and origins of crime have been the subjects of investigation by varied disciplines. Some factors which are known to affect the volume and type of crime occurring from place to place are: • Population density and degree of urbanization. • Variations in composition of the population, particularly youth concentration. • Stability of population with respect to residents' mobility, commuting patterns, and transient factors. • Modes of transportation and highway system. • Economic conditions, including median income, poverty level, and job availability. • Cultural factors and educational, recreational, and religious characteristics. • Family conditions with respect to divorce and family cohesiveness. • Climate. • Effective strength of law enforcement agencies. • Administrative and investigative emphases of law enforcement. • Policies of other components of the criminal justice system (i.e., prosecutorial, judicial, correctional, and probational). • Citizens' attitudes toward crime. • Crime reporting practices of the citizenry. The Uniform Crime Reports give a nationwide view of crime based on statistics contributed by local and state law enforcement agencies. Population size is the only correlate of crime utilized in these data. While the other factors listed above are of equal concern, no attempt is made to relate them to the data presented54 Violent crime is defined by the Uniform Crime Reports as four offenses - murder and non-negligent manslaughter, forcible rape, robbery, and aggravated assault. All violent crimes involve force or threat of force.55 In 1997, an estimated 1.6 million violent crimes were reported to law enforcement. This number represents the lowest total recorded since 1988.56 From 1996 to 1997, violent crime decreased in the Nation's cities collectively by 4 percent and in the suburban counties by 2 percent. In contrast, an increase of 3 percent was recorded in rural counties.57 The national violent crime rate in 1997 was 4 percent lower than in 1996, and it was the lowest rate recorded since 1987.58 Table 91. Violent Crime Murder Rape Robbery Aggravated Assault Year Utah U.S. Utah __ U.S. Utah __ U.S. Utah U.S. ___ f983 "~"~1T3 1984 2.9 7.9 20.0 35.7 57.8 205.4 162.0 290.2 1985 3.0 7.9 22.9 37.1 55.0 208.5 184.0 302.9 1986 3.0 8.6 25.2 37.9 58.4 225.1 182.9 346.1 1987 3.2 8.3 22.0 37.4 52.7 212.7 162.6 351.3 1988 2.8 8.4 23.2 37.6 53.8 220.9 162.0 370.2 1989 2.7 8.7 28.6 38.1 52.7 233.0 173.0 383.4 1990 3.0 9.4 37.7 41.2 56.7 257.0 184.3 424.1 1991 2.9 9.8 44.5 42.3 54.6 272.7 179.0 433.3 1992 2.9 9.3 44.5 42.8 55.8 263.6 184.5 441.8 1993 3.1 9.5 44.6 40.6 58.6 255.8 194.7 440.1 1994 2.9 9.0 42.2 39.3 63.6 237.7 195.8 427.6 1995 3.9 8.2 42.7 37.1 67.1 220.9 215.1 418.3 1996 3.2 7.4 41.8 36.3 68.9 201.9 218.1 390.9 1997 2.4 6.8 47.5 35.9 68.4 186.1 215.8 382.0 Sources have changed from Volume V. *Reported crimes per 100,000 population. Sources: U.S. Department of Justice, Uniform Crime Report 7996 and 1994, Washington D.C. [Online] Available http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/Cius_97/97crime/97crime....pdf, p. 67. 54 The Uniform Crime Reports. [Online] Available http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/Cius_97/97crime/97crime.pdf. 55 Ibid., p. 11. 56 Ibid., p. 12. 57 Ibid. 58 Ibid. 110 |