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Posted by Sanjeev Ramabhadran on January 14, 2008, 12:05 am
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Government tends to exaggerate the violent nature of crime.
*
* According to the Justice Department's Bureau of Justice Statistics, less
* than a third of the 6.6 million violent crimes committed in the U.S in 1992
* resulted in injury; most of the victims suffered only minor cuts, scratches
* or bruises.
*
* About 20 percent of them needed minor medical care; 7 percent went to
* emergency rooms. Only 1 percent of the victims were hurt seriously enough
* to require hospitalization.
*
* The incongruity arises because of the way the law defines violent crime.
*
* For example, aggravated assault is defined as either intentionally causing
* serious bodily harm or using a weapon to threaten or attempt to cause
* bodily harm.
*
* Fortunately, most aggravated assault victims fall into the last category;
* most victims are never touched by the offender.
*
* The same held true for armed robbery. Only 3 percent required medical
* treatment. Less than half of armed robbers displayed guns, and those
* who did were LESS LIKELY TO INJURE VICTIMS than robbers who didn't show
* guns.
*
* The FBI has a tendency to worry people unnecessarily, even when it has
* good news. For example, last year the FBI announced that 53 percent of
* all homicides were by strangers, and that for the first time all Americans
* had a "realistic" chance of being murdered.
*
* But to arrive at these troubling figures, the FBI considered ALL UNSOLVED
* HOMICIDES, including drug-related killings, as homicides committed by
* strangers, thus creating the impression that murder was becoming
* increasingly random. "Three Strikes" laws also skew the statistics.
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http://www.epic.org...Louis Freeh, banging the Drums of War:
Prepared Statement of
Director Louis J. Freeh
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