It is said and known, that the United States of America is not the safest place to live in. The figures show, that in proportion to population the United States is one of the most, if not the most dangerous land on Earth . Through the means of mass communication anyone can get aquainted with the state of affairs on the far side of the Atlantic Ocean. A lot of foreigner viewers state, that the news is overwhelmed by reports about wars, assasinations, murders, violence. Obviously crime is one of the hottest topics and most serious problem of American citizens. Crime concerns them all, especially violent crime touches the public mind. Violent crime is a class of offenses, which are against person. According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation the most serious offenses classified as violent crimes are: aggravated assault, forcible rape, murder and nonnegligent manslaughter, and robbery.
About 10 percent of the offenses reported in 1983 were for crimes against person. Many people think, that most arrest are made for serious crimes, but this is not true. (The most frequent arrests in the U.S. are made for driving under the influence of liquor and narcotics, drunkenness, and vagrancy). The public belief, that serious violent crimes are major offences is due to the press, which naturally puts a special emphasis on violent crime (often for financial reasons). Sometimes mass communication suggests, that the situation is desperate, and it exaggerates the problem.
Since violence has been reported, experts have been trying to give an explanation to the question: Why is violent crime so high in the USA. Everyday violence has various reasons in the USA. Going back in time, and looking for some historical and traditional reasons one can see, that during the colonization, and afterwards during the independence movement a lot of controversy occured. Frequently violence and shooting were the easiest way to a solution. In the "Wild West" farmers, sheep herders, cattle breeders did not sit down to negotiate whose the land would be. They had gathered their employees and they had been fighting till somebody won. The "tooth for tooth, eye for eye" moral had come across until the police appeared on the west.
Since then the police have got a lot to do. In the 20th century, during the period of "Prohibition" (1919-1933) a huge network of corruption and blackmail and gang rivalry grew. When this era elapsed the network of organised crime turned to other kinds of activity (e.g. drugs, large scale-robbery etc.). Nowadays still lots of violent crime can be connected with reckoning between two gangs or organizations.
Of course, violence cannot be correlated merely with the gangland. There are individual criminals whose social condition forces them to commit a crime. The highest crime rates occur in the most deprived sections of large cities. Slum areas are unprovided with well-equipped schools and possibilities of employment. For many young people the one and only chance to escape from boredom is going out to the streets, which are scenes of crime and vice (gambling, prostitution, drug abuse). Unfortunately, the residents of these areas are blacks or other minority groups. As a result, these people are considered to be misdemeanant.
Sad to say, but these citizens are afraid of both criminals and policemen, thus they refuse to cooperate with police, therefore police can not work effectively. The efficiency of the police is not only a matter of relationship to the citizens. Public opinion polls show, that Americans think police have not enough officer. Citizens unanimously believe, that there would be less violence on the streets if there were more patrols. Also, it is a well-known fact, that the U.S.A. is the land, where human rights are taken into consideration. In certain cases we witness, that human rights hinder and tie the investigation. Of course some way or another the police can go into action, but because of some official process the criminal can gain time.
Finally, a further cause of violent crime in the U.S. should be mentioned. And this is a cultural one. Many experts say, that films are to be blamed for the excessively high rate of violent crime. At the beginning of the 1980's a large number of action-films appeared on the screen. These films had a great influence on young people, who as a result, learnt a rather violent morals, and violent problem solving. Young people and some weak-nerved adult approved this behaviour, and violence penetrated into their life.
The government can take legal measures in order to improve the situation. First of all stricter laws and punishment can be initiated. The two issues, which are in focus now are death penalty and gun control. Death penalty was considered to be "cruel and unusual" punishment by Supreme Court in 1972. Meanwhile the number of murders had been growing. Public opinion polls were showing a massive support for the return of the use of capital punishment. In 1975 it was allowed again in certain circumstances. The number of murders had declined by a fifth. But capital punishment is still not a common one, even in death penalty states most murders do not qualify for it.
The other important issue is gun control. It is even more controversial, than the question of death penalty. Approximately 50 percent of murders are commited with handguns. It is possible, because handguns can be bought so easily. Some states have certain restrictions on the open sale, some do not have any. Unfortunately, those who want to restrict public access to guns cannot argue effectively against one of the most powerful pressure groups, the National Rifle Association. NRA is a conservative lobby, which refer to the 2nd Amendment to the Constitution, saying: "the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed". In 1986 some restrictions were passed, but adequate control of guns will not be easily achieved.
Obviously, these antagonistic interests are difficult to bridge. The opponents have to compromise, so that not any kind of radical solution is possible. But other problems are not so ticklish. For example the press should be forced to give a lesser publicity to violent criminal cases. The same could be done with TV channels and movies. One could say, that this is a violence against the 1st Amendment to the Constitution, according to the freedom of press, but this shall not be a censorship just a kind of agreement, that would regulate presenting violent films, news and so on. On the other hand bureaucracies should be decreased, in order to let the police act much faster. The effective force should be extended, and more patrol should be sent out to the streets, especially to the slum areas. Finally, the Government should take measures in order to improve the circumstances in the deprived city areas. Of course, this essay does not enumerate all of the problems, and does not give an answer to all of the questions, but it shows, that by compromise the situation can be improved. Even if some measure is seemingly unconstitutional, or limiting personal freedom, by these changes the American society would win more, than it would lose.
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