Why Crime Matters, and What to Do About It • The Aspen Institute Economic Strategy Group

In this paper, Jennifer Doleac describes what is known about crime trends in the US and outlines the best evidence to date on the effectiveness of various approaches to reducing crime through prevention, deterrence, and rehabilitation. 

Crime in the US rose during the 1980s and early 1990s before declining steadily until 2020. During the COVID-19 pandemic, homicides, shootings, and motor vehicle thefts spiked, but by late 2023, overall rates of homicides and shootings had returned to their pre-pandemic levels. Because less serious offenses such as carjackings are much more difficult to track with nationwide data systems, we currently have an incomplete picture of how those crimes have trended in recent years across the country. Certain types of crime remain high, however, and Doleac emphasizes that crime continues to disproportionately affect certain urban areas and communities.

— Read on www.economicstrategygroup.org/publication/doleac-crime/