Name |     Mechanism |
---|---|
Strong economy |     Wealthy offenders commit less crime |
Concealed weapons laws |     More defensive guns, less crime |
Capital punishment |     More death penalty deterred crime |
Gun control laws |     Less guns, less crime |
Rising prison population |     Incapacitation and deterrence reduce crime |
Policing strategies |     Policing focused on crime problems (Compstat, POP) |
More police |     More police detected and deterred crime |
Legalization of abortion |     More abortion since 1973, less offenders by 1990s |
Immigration |     Immigrants commit less crime, so crime fell as immigration rose |
Consumer confidence |     Wealthy buy less from stolen goods markets |
Waning crack market |     2nd generation youth deterred by violence and prison for elders |
Childhood lead |     Lead poisoning of children made them adolescent criminals |
Changing demographics |     Aging population means relatively less young offenders |
Civilizing process |     Social institutions more legitimate (1960s-80s = age of protest) |
Improved security |     Improved security, reduced crime opportunities |