Crime rates have been consistently falling across the board since at least 1993 in the US and throughout much of the world over the past couple of decades or so. It's puzzling why. I can't directly compare to the past since I'm not that old but it doesn't seem like people today are especially kind compared to any other generation. So I don't think it's because we are evolving into a more loving or moral species.

One could argue the fact we're tougher on crime today with longer prison sentences is the reason but I don't agree because even places that have reduced punishments or released prisoners have seen large drops in crime. The abortion and lead arguments are interesting but in my opinion kind of out there. The fact more people are carrying guns doesn't make a lot of sense either since countries that don't allow concealed carry have seen the same trends. Crime continued to fall after the Great Recession so it's not the economy.

I actually think there's three causes. One is the fact that people have become more cynical and introverted. This means that people in general trust strangers less and interact less with people in general, and the less people interact with each other the less likely there will be a crime. People being more cynical and wary also makes them less likely to be victimized, though this has come at the cost of society feeling a lot colder, which is probably why people seem more unhappy and lonely than ever.

Secondly technology has made crime a lot less profitable. In the past not only could one get away with crime more easily, even if they were caught or served time for something they could move on with their lives. Today even committing a relatively minor crime like shoplifting or a DUI will follow you the rest of your life and could essentially ruin your life because employers and anyone else can run a background check on you. There is no forgiveness in today's world and this makes the "cost" of crime much higher.

Lastly the material motivations for crime have changed dramatically. Electronics are cheap today so it's much less lucrative to burglarize a house. Video games and pornography likely serve as an outlet for people who would have otherwise become psychos. Robbing a bank these days is more less impossible, etc.

What do you think? Why is crime down and do you think it will continue to fall?

Improved forensics science definitely helps. It's simply much harder to get away with a crime now than it was 25 years ago, when DNA testing data was in its infancy, thus you're less likely to see repeat offenders on the streets unchecked for long periods of time.

I tend to take a generational view on this, I think Millennial youth are more risk averse and cautious compared to Gen Xers and especially Boomers in their own youth. This shows in other areas like declines in teenage pregnancy, drug usage, ect., I don't think it's a coincidence that crime started to decline on Millennials reached their teenage years.