The more one knows, the clearer it is that both stronger responses from the justice system and more radical social-program interventions are needed to curb crime before it is too late. Crime is concentrated in urban America. Unless you are a minority citizen living in an urban, neighborhood, you are less likely to be assaulted, raped, robbed, burglarized, or murdered today than you were in 1980. For most Americans, all crimes, save auto theft, are down. For urban minority Americans, all crimes, including homicide, are up.
Urban crime is concentrated in inner-city neighborhoods.
Inner-city crime has not spread to other places, but stay tuned. In 1990, Philadelphia's total crime rate was about twice that of the four surrounding suburban Pennsylvania counties, and its violent crime rate was over three times that of those counties. Crime rates in rural Pa. were unchanged. Forty-two percent of all violent crimes committed in Pa. occurred in Philadelphia, which contained only 14 percent of the population. More and more crime involves chronic violent offenders under 18 years of age.