Sociology of Violence
Issue 1–What Do We Really Know?
1. Examine Figures 1.3, 1.4, 1.5 in the textbook. ALSO, read the FBI Report on Violent Crime in the US (FBI UCR Violent Crime Data for 2019) and specifically refer to Table 1 in that report. What has been the general trend in terms of volume and rate of violent crime in the US from 1993 to 2014 (and 1998 to 2019) based on the data? Is it going up, going down, relatively stable, or mixed?
2. Given that violent crime rates have been relatively going down since 1993, how do you “rationalize” the difference between the declining rates and the increased perceived fear in the US about violent crime?
3. There is evidence that violent crime rates have gone up since 2019. Though still not at 1990’s levels, this rising violent crime rate raises concerns where it takes place. What structural forces (Structural Violence) may account for this rise in violent crimes over the past two years? Is this more of an Individual problem, or one that is Structural in nature?