And this particular type of crime may be the reason for rising public fear, even though crime statistics show that actual crime rates are down. Current statistics show that only 45 percent of murder victims actually knew their killers. This statistic is also reflected by the drop in the number of homicides that the police now clear. Conventional methods of homicide investigation dictate that when looking for a murderer, you look at your victim's background and who he knew. In that way you are able to obtain leads toward your suspect.
Leads tend to dry up quicker.
One criminal expert that does not take on the rosy outlook toward recent statistics is Professor James Alan Fox at Northeastern University in Boston. What Professor Fox says is true. The most recent available statistics show that the number of murders committed by offenders aged 21-years and older, in Chicago, went down from 461 in 1986 to 365 in 1994. While virtually at the same time, murders committed by offenders aged 20-years and younger, in Chicago, went up from 168 in 1985 to 448 in 1994. Professor Fox said that the number of teenagers will increase by 23 percent during the next ten years in the United States, and that this new crop of teen criminals will most likely will cause a new wave of crime.