Research Paper on:
Crime in America

Unformatted Sample Text from the Research Paper:
time. The types of crimes may change, in terms of prevalence, and the rates may deviate from one sort of crime to another, but the truth is that crime is  with us as a natural part, perhaps, of the existence of mankind. In relationship to the crime rates in the United States we often hear many different, sometimes conflicting, arguments  about whether crime rates are up, down, or stable. It seems that one report will argue that crime rates are stable, while another, one that perhaps focuses on youth crime,  will argue that it is greatly on the rise. Bearing this in mind the following paper presents a literature review of current statistics from various sources and then presents a  discussion which compiles the information presented, demonstrating what seems to be the truth in regards to the current crime rate in the United States. Literature Review We begin  with the reports provided by the FBI. The report examined is from 1998 as it concerned the crime rates of 1997. It reads that "the Federal Bureau of Investigation announced  today that for the sixth consecutive year reported serious crime decreased in the United States. In 1997, reported serious crime, which includes both violent and property crimes, was estimated at  nearly 13.2 million offenses, a decline of 2 percent from the 1996 level and 7 percent from the 1993 figures" (FBI National Press Office, 1998; ucrpress.htm). The crime rate was  reported to have declined in all areas of criminal activity: "violent crime totals were down 3 percent and property crime totals declined 2 percent from 1996 levels. By offense, the  decline in violent crimes in 1997 from 1996 totals were murder and robbery, each 7 percent; aggravated assault, 1 percent; and forcible rape showed a slight decrease" (FBI National Press