mmmmm, more guns than ever before....


www.breitbart.com/news/2005/09/25/MTFH40651_2005-09-25_20-35-38_DIT574161.html


Violent crime in US stays at historic low: report
Sep 25 4:27 PM US/Eastern
 


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Reports of violent crime in the United States in 2004 stayed at the lowest level since the government began compiling statistics 32 years ago, but males, youths and those of more than one race were victimized at higher rates than others, the Justice Department said on Sunday.

There were 24 million violent crimes and property crimes in about the same rate as the previous year, according to an annual study by the government's Bureau of Justice Statistics.

Guns were used in 6 percent of all robberies, assaults, rapes and other nonlethal crimes, according to the report. That was down from 11 percent a decade earlier.

But guns were used in 71 percent of murders committed in the most recent year with comprehensive data.

The highest victimization rate -- the number of victims of violent crime for every 1,000 people 12 and older -- was for people of two or more races, with a level of 51.6 per thousand. Blacks had a higher victimization rate, 26 per thousand, than whites, at 21 per thousand.

In terms of age, youths aged 12 to 15 had a victimization rate of 49.7; the next-highest rate for an age category was 45.9 for those aged 16 to 19. The lowest rate, 2.1, was for those 65 and or older.

Males had a victimization rate of 25, compared with 18.1 for females, the study showed.

The report said 49 percent of murder victims in 2003 were black, the same rate as whites. Murder statistics were not available for 2004. According to Census Bureau figures, blacks made up 12.1 percent of the population in 2000.

Violent crimes against victims earning $50,000 to $74,999 shot up 13.3 percent, while those earning $7,500 to $14,999, experienced a 1.7 percent rise in such crimes. The crime rate for all other income groups fell, the survey said.

The report said the violent crime rate fell 57 percent and the property crime rate fell by 50 percent from 1993 through

The nonprofit Justice Policy Institute said the statistics underscored the need to shift the emphasis away from "overzealous spending on incarceration" to "what states and localities are doing to reduce incarceration, reduce crime and build communities."

It's Bush's fault.

Quoted: The nonprofit Justice Policy Institute said the statistics underscored the need to shift the emphasis away from "overzealous spending on incarceration" to "what states and localities are doing to reduce incarceration, reduce crime and build communities."

Yeah, because apparently it's working.................................