The Rise and Fall of Violent Crime in America

433 Pages·2016·19.507 MB·English

by  Barry Latzer

Rise Fall
The and of
Violent Crime America
in
B A R R Y L A T Z E R
STARTING IN THE LATE 1960S, the United States suffered the biggest
sustained rise in violent crime in its history. In some locales, people dreaded
leaving their homes at any time, day or night, and many Americans spent
part of each day literally looking over their shoulders. How could things have
gotten so bad? Why did they get better? This book—the definitive history of
crime from World War II to the twenty-first century—provides the answers.
The Rise
and Fall
of Violent Crime
in America

The Rise
and Fall
of Violent Crime
in America
Barry Latzer
Encounter Books
New York • London
© 2016 by Barry Latzer
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced,
stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by
any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording,
or otherwise, without the prior written permission of
Encounter Books, 900 Broadway, Suite 601,
New York, New York 10003.
First American edition published in 2016 by Encounter Books,
an activity of Encounter for Culture and Education, Inc.,
a nonprofit, tax-exempt corporation.
Encounter Books website address: www.encounterbooks.com
Manufactured in the United States and printed on
acid-free paper. The paper used in this publication meets
the minimum requirements of ANSI/NISO Z39.48–1992
(R 1997) (Permanence of Paper).
first american edition
library of congress cataloging-in-publication data
Latzer, Barry, 1945–
The rise and fall of violent crime in America / Barry Latzer.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-59403-835-8 (hardcover : alk. paper) —
ISBN 978-1-59403-836-5 (ebook)
1. Violent crimes—United States—History. 2. Crime—United States.
I. Title.
HV6789.L38 2015
364.150973'090945—dc23
2015010962
produced by wilsted & taylor publishing services
To Sandra,
for her infinite love
and patience
\
In memory of
Gene Plotnik and Marc Raeff,
who never saw it completed

Contents
ix
Preface
ChaPTeR 1 World War II and Its Aftermath 1
Crime in the 1940s
ChaPTeR 2 The Golden Years 43
Violent Crime in the 1950s
ChaPTeR 3 Ordeal 103
The Great Post-1960s Crime Rise
ChaPTeR 4 The Violence Continues 171
America in the 1980s
ChaPTeR 5 The Great Downturn 221
1995 to the Twenty-First Century
ConCluSIon History and the Study of Crime 265
275
Acknowledgments
277
Notes
351
Bibliography
393
Index

Preface
Violent crime, especially after the late 1960s, was one of the
most significant domestic issues in the United States. Aside
from the civil rights movement, the campaign for women’s
rights, and structural changes in the economy, it is hard to
think of a phenomenon that had a more profound effect on
American life in the last third of the twentieth century. After
1965, crime rose to such heights that it frightened virtually all
Americans and prompted significant alterations in everyday be-
haviors and even in lifestyles. The risk of being mugged became
an issue for Americans when they chose homes and schools, se-
lected commuter routes, and planned leisure activities. In some
urban locations, people were afraid to leave their dwellings at
any time, day or night, even to go to the grocery store. During
the worst of the post-1960s crime wave, Americans spent part
of each day literally looking back over their shoulders.
Crime stimulated billions of dollars in government expen-
ditures and millions more in civilian attempts to harden targets
ix