From what I gather, there seem to be two...somewhat contradictory, or perhaps very different perspectives on crime and law and order in the 60s (mainly in an American context). While old folk go on about how they 'never worried about walking to the shops alone' and 'never locked the front door', the actual crime rate in many areas was actually higher than today. Take New York City, where the crime rate peaked in the late 70s and early 80s. Films such as 'Midnight Cowboy' depict the unfriendly nature of New York in the late 60s. Coupled with civil rights, racism.etc I think in many ways the 60s were a more dangerous place to live in than today. Are there any 'old timers' on this board with any experiences they can relate?

not an old timer but i know that the crime wasn't reported like it is today. thats why the masses who lived at that time can say they had little crime, compared to today.

From what I gather, there seem to be two...somewhat contradictory, or perhaps very different perspectives on crime and law and order in the 60s (mainly in an American context). While old folk go on about how they 'never worried about walking to the shops alone' and 'never locked the front door', the actual crime rate in many areas was actually higher than today. Take New York City, where the crime rate peaked in the late 70s and early 80s. Films such as 'Midnight Cowboy' depict the unfriendly nature of New York in the late 60s. Coupled with civil rights, racism.etc I think in many ways the 60s were a more dangerous place to live in than today. Are there any 'old timers' on this board with any experiences they can relate?




I wasn't alive in the 60's, but I was in the late 70's and early 80's and was living in NYC.    The movies do not do NYC justice at all... they make it look so dirty and crime-infested.  It's not really that way.  Sure there are bad neighborhoods in NYC like Harlem, parts of the Bronx, etc...  but if you want to know what NY is like, you should go there, or ask people who still live there like Nullandvoid & Howard...  I'm not saying you are wrong to rely on movies if that's the only view of NY that you get, but I do think the moviemakers are wrong to keep painting an unfair picture of NY.

I agree that crime wasn't reported (in the media) as much back then, however, I also believe that back then, the general public wouldn't look the other way when a crime was being committed... nowadays you could probably walk into a store and steal something, right in front of other shoppers, and most would just look away and mind their own business, except maybe a couple old-timers...  back then, I think most people would have confronted the person and/or called the police...

From what I gather, there seem to be two...somewhat contradictory, or perhaps very different perspectives on crime and law and order in the 60s (mainly in an American context).

Weren't there alot of serial killers creeping around in the 60's?  :o