Page 3459 - 1970S

In London, a Regent Strcet shop–
keeper is attacked and robbed by
a gang of juveniles while waiting
for an underground Ira in.
In Sydney. Austra lia. a teenage
girl is raped while her boyfriend is
forced to look on helplessly.
In Montreal , a secretary taking a
walk in the park during her lunch
break is s uddenly gra bbed from be–
hind . dragged into th e bus hes,
raped and beaten.
In Miami Beach, a 70-year-old
woman who had recently moved
south to escape crime in New Yo rk
City is tied up. bea ten. and choked
to death by two a rmed robbers .
ln Hamburg. West Germany, an
American tourist is knifed and
robbed on the waterfront.
In París. a n elderly man gets off
the bus to walk the sho rt di sta nt e to
his home. Within minutes he is lying
dead on lhe sidewalk. his body full
of knife wounds and his wallet and
watch missing.
Crime and violence a re becoming
a way of life in much of the world
today. Shocking crimes which a
decade or two ago would have made
front-page headlines a re now so nu–
merous tha t. in many cases, they a re
no longer news. Offenses of murde r.
a rmed robbery. aggrava ted assault ,
rape, kidnapping. burg la ry, arson ,
vandalism and the like continue on
the upswing a round the globe, de–
spite ever-increasing expenditures
for law enfo rcement. Developed
and developing nations- democratic
and communist- all are reportíng
rísing levels of crime.
Crime sta ti stícs, however, do no t
begin to te ll the who le story. Studies
reveal tha t up to two-thirds of a ll
crimes are never repon ed! Many
victims are either fearfu l or too em–
barrasscd to come forwa rd. or be–
líeve tha t no thing can or will be
done even if they do.
Crime on the Rampage
The United States continues to be
the lrend-setter, wilh the highesl
crime ra te of any Wes tern índus–
trialized na tion. In a na tion which
spends nearly $20 billion a year to
fight crime. someone is murdered
every 26 minutes - ov e r 20 ,000
people in 1976. Figures continue to
surge upwa rd in virtua lly all o ther
crime ca tegories as well.
12
In Britain, law enfo rcement o ffi –
cials a re concerned over the dra–
matic increase in crimes of violence
and vanda lism. and po lice wa rn tha t
Brita in could face vio lent crime "on
an American scale" within a few
years ' time. The rale of murder a nd
manslaughter has doubled ove r the
pas t 15 yea rs. And th e rise in
" petty" crime, such as shoplifting. is
te rmed "shocking."
In France- where serious c rime
has tripled in the past 14 years- the
situalion is becoming so serious that
the gove rnment has set up a specia l
commission 10 sea rch for solutions
10 the problem.
ltaly is experiencing a crime wave
of unprecedented proportions. and
po lice officia ls are deeply con–
ce rned. Amo ng o th e r c r im es.
kidnappings for ransom havc sky–
rocketed. And Rome now has the
distinction of being "the mosl thief–
ridden cily in Europe."
In West G ermany. crime figures
a re up in most major cities. Au tho ri–
ties a re especía lly worried by a
marked ri se in política! terrorism.
In Canada and Australia, the ris–
ing leve! of crime and vio lence is
a lso triggering public concern.
In Mexico, crime is growing a t an
a la rming pace, with recent sta ti stics
showing Mexíco's crime rate 10 be
three times that of the United States
and five times that of France.
Crime sta tistics a re ra re ly avail–
able fo r the Soviet Union. but re–
po rts from fo reign news papermen
there índi cate a ri se in city
crime- notably car theft-as well as
hooliganism or petty crimc.
T he People's Republ ic of China .
currently experi encing a period of
política! and social tension. is in 1he
midst of a widespread crime wave,
including an upsurge in bank rob–
be ries, looting. rape and murde r.
And so the story goes in na tion
a fter nation today.
The Causes
Why is crime skyrocke ting a round
the wo rld? What a re the causes of
críme? Many diverse theori es have
been pul fo rwa rd in an attempt to
explain crime, including poverty, il–
lite racy. unemployment, racial dis–
crimination, the easy ava ilability of
guns, inadequa te po lice pro tection,
unequal and delayed justice, a lcohol
a nd drugs. urbaniza tion, fi na ncia !
strains due to inflalion. 1he impacl
of te levision and rnotion piclure vio–
lence, genetics. and so on.
T hese fac to rs unques1iona bly
conlribule lo and aggrava te the
problem of crirne. but a re no t. in
and of themselves. root causes of it.
Wha t a re oftcn termed "causes'' of
crime a re mo re often j ust excuses o r
j ustifications for it. o r a t besl secon–
da ry o r tertia ry causes.
Many people live in poverty. fo r
example, bu1 do nol commil crime.
In fact. lhe poor a re the g rca les t
victims of crime. Surprising ly. rob–
bery and burgla ry ac tua lly declined
in the United Sta tes during the De–
pression years of 1he 1930s, a nd
la le r began to increase once aga in as
prosperily returned!
Many a re unemployed o r a re un–
de r fi nancia l pressures of one sort o r
ano lher. bu1 do not resort to crime.
Mosl citizens of racial mino rities.
tho ugh possible victims of discrimi–
na tion. ha ve no t become crimina ls
beca us e o f it. Mos t g un own–
ers-handgun owners included- do
no1 use them for crim ina l purposes.
Most city dwellcrs do not turn 10
crime because of the pressures of
city life.
Wha t, then. a re 1he rea l unde r–
lying root causes of crime? Be fo re
viable so lutions can be soughl , the
real causes must be pinpoinled.
Breakdown of the Home
Criminologists have often observed
lh a t we are bringing crime and vio–
lcnce upon ourselves by 1he kind of
society we have. And. no t surpris–
ing ly. it's back to the home- thc ba–
sic building block of society- tha l
mos t crime can ultima tely be traced.
The breakdown of fami ly life and
1he home is a majo r social trend in
na tion after na lion today. Con–
sequently. lhe home-which should
stand as a strong bas tion of resis–
lance against the permissive and
lawless influences of sociely- is no
longer playing its proper role.
One does no t have to be a psy–
cho logist lo uncover the rea l causes
of crime. Interviews with crimina ls
lhemselves quickly reveal a com–
mon denomina1or- problems in 1he
home.
From pe tty th ieves to mass mur–
(Continued on page 14)
The PLAIN TRUTH April 1977