Stay Informed

Sign up for news & alerts

Already signed up?
Login here
What Can I Do?


Get Help
Need alcohol or drug help for yourself or someone else? GET HELP
Continuing Education
Free online courses for addiction counselors LEARN ONLINE
Resources
Resources
Find useful publications, online documents & more.


DrugScreening.org


 
U.S. Murder Rate Declines to 1966 Levels
October 16, 2000

Share Share Email
Email
Print
Print
SubscribeSubscribe
Research Summary

A new report from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) found that murder rates in the United States have dropped for the eighth year in a row, Reuters reported Oct. 15.

The 1999 murder rate was at the lowest level since 1966. According to the final U.S. crime statistics report for 1999, 15,533 people were murdered in the U.S. last year. "The overall crime rate is at a 26-year low, the murder rate is at a 33-year low, and the violent-crime rate is down to its lowest point in over two decades," said President Bill Clinton.

Clinton urged Congress to reauthorize a program to hire more community police officers and to adopt gun-control legislation to keep the trend going. U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno warned that despite the report's findings, the country should not become complacent about crime. "We cannot rest. We must build on the progress we have made in reducing crime," she said.

Experts offered a variety of reasons for the reduced crime rates, among them better police strategies, more officers on the street, the booming economy, the record U.S. prison population, and the aging of the baby-boom generation past their prime crime-committing years.

According to the FBI report, there were 14 million arrests for all criminal offenses in 1999, excluding traffic violations. Violations for drug abuse and driving under the influence, totalling more than 1.5 million each, accounted for the most arrests.

COMMENTS ON THIS ARTICLE:

Your Turn! Post a public comment (read guidelines):

Name:

Comment:
(limit 200
words)
Enter this word
(help):		 Change

GUIDELINES: 
To keep this feature useful for all, please:

  1. Keep it clean, courteous, and on-topic. Comments are meant for thoughtful discussion of the article published above.

  2. Do not post promotional links to organizations, products or services, or personal requests for assistance (get help).

  3. Proof your comments carefully, use good spelling and punctuation, and don't use ALL CAPS. Comments are published immediately and cannot be edited.

Deceptive, slanderous and commercially-motivated posts are prohibited. We reserve the right to remove comments not conforming to these guidelines. (Report a comment).

Have questions or feedback? Contact us.