The American Crime Decline and the Security Hypothesis

• In Event: Poster Session

Abstract

The US crime decline is a prominent component of the international crime decline. Between 1980 and 2020, US burglary declined 80 percent, a recent study concluding it was due to increased prevalence, quality, in-house coverage, and routine use of security fixtures and fittings. Vehicle crime declines in the 1970s, but particularly from 1990, were due to vehicle security improvements, particularly electronic immobilizers. Age-period-cohort analysis shows birth cohorts reaching adolescence in years when crime opportunities were scarcer had reduced onset and continuance rates, producing a cumulative effect and causing the violent crime decline due to reduced participation and progression in offending.

Author

• Graham Farrell, University of Leeds