Another factor to consider when analyzing increasing crime rates is population growth. In a city such as Cairo, where the population will soon reach 10 million, it is to be expected that the number of crimes is double what it was when the population was only 5 million. The crime rate therefore remains the same though there is a greater number of individual crimes. This is true with any city whose population is increasing rapidly whether Casablanca, Khartoum or Riyadh. The simple statement that crimes have increased without viewing the facts from the proper perspective will mislead us and make us put the blame in the wrong place.
Some people believe the crime rate has increased because of a sharp decline in religious faith.
This does not stand to reason when we observe the increasing number of mosques, religious schools and more copies of the Holy Book than we formerly saw. The finger is sometimes pointed at satellite channels which highlight violence. Crimes were committed of course, but news about them was not circulated. Some people lament the guiltless societies of bygone days and say our world was pure because it had so little contact with the contaminated world. It is true that there is more intermingling of people which has produced some negative effects, particularly in the matter of drug abuse.