Happy Monday! Episode 13
Good news: violent crime rates declining
Transcript
Good morning and happy Monday! Although, if you’ve been watching the news or scrolling Facebook, you may wonder if there really is anything to be happy about. Judging by the headlines, the entire world is going to hell in a hand basket…to borrow a phrase from my grandmother.
But the truth is there is much to celebrate. It’s just that those stories don’t receive the kind of airtime that the dramatic stories of spectacular disasters, crime, and corruption do.
So for the next couple of months, I’m going to use my Happy Monday time to share a positive fact or statistic with you.
Starting today.
Did you know that, in fact, the world homicide rate has declined 20 percent in the last 15 years, according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime?
In the United States, violent crime has declined between 51 to 71 percent since 1993, depending on which measure you use. The FBI tracks all crimes reported to the police, and that number has dropped by 51 percent. In addition, the Bureau of Justice Statistics (say that three times) conducts a survey asking Americans if they have been a victim of violent crime, whether or not they reported it to the police. This measure has decreased by 71 percent in the same time period.
So, while there is entirely too much violence in the world, and I am not asking you to bury you head in the sand about that, we are moving in the right direction, and that is something to celebrate.
I hope I have brightened your Monday. If so, please like and share this video. Also, if you want to be sure you don’t miss a single Happy Monday, please subscribe to this channel, and make sure you click on the notification bell.
That’s it for today. I’ll see you back here in two weeks. In the meantime, I’d love for you to visit me at christiehawkes.com. Have a very happy Monday!
Follow my blog with Bloglovin.
Shared on the GRAND Social and #MLSTL.
Image by Jeff Kingma from Pixabay
It does seem so easy to find the negative in the world, and sometimes you really have to look for the positive. But I’m a firm believer that there is more good out there than bad. Thanks for the reminder!
I agree Cindy. Humans definitely have a negativity bias, so we have to work a little harder to see the good. Thanks for stopping by and taking the time to comment.
Lovely to hear your Happy Monday news Christie. There is so much doom and gloom around we need all the happy moments we can get. x
There is plenty to worry about, Deb, so I hope I can counter that some with some positive news. I’m glad you made it home safely and that your home was not damaged. XO
Christie, we can never have enough good news, and your series of sharing positive items is an inspiring idea. I wish that snippet of information could be the same for down here in New Zealand and the rest of the world! #MSTL
I’ll keep digging up positive news from around the world, Suzanne. Feel free to make suggestions or share good news from your side of the world. Have a lovely week!
As far as I’m concerned, keep bringing those positive stats – we can never have enough good news! #MLSTL (As an aside, this one did surprise me… in a good way.)
I was surprised too, Jo. I checked several sources, just to make sure it wasn’t one of those situations where someone bends the numbers in their favor. One of the most common reasons cited was an aging population. Evidently, young men commit the majority of violent crimes.
Thanks for sharing this good news, Christie. More positivity and positive thinking are good for us. #MLSTL
Thank you Natalie. I will keep digging up positive news. Feel free to share suggestions!
It is nice to get some good news! Many statistics about negative things show that our world is no more in a mess than it was in the past, but that doesn’t make for good headlines. I agree with celebrating the positive things! Happy new year!
Thank you Michele. That is my understanding as well. Part of the reason it feels like crime has increased is because we hear about it quicker and more frequently. And of course there have been some pretty horrific crimes recently. We need to keep looking into the root of the problem and do what we can to improve things for everyone. But in the process, let’s not overlook the good things about this life and this world.
It’s interesting that there’s been such a steep decline in violent crime in the US but yet all we hear about is the latest shootings. I wonder if the type of crime has changed? Now you’ve made me think Christie – and that’s always a good thing!
Thanks for linking up with us at MLSTL and I’ve shared on my SM ?
I was quite surprised by the statistics as well, Leanne. I think part of the reason it feels like there is more crime is because we hear about it so quickly and then the stories are told over and over. Of course, there have been some horrific mass shootings, which I suspect have increased (though I don’t know that for a fact). We definitely need to keep working to make things better, but knowing this positive news makes it seem less hopeless, which is a good thing all the way around. I hope you are having a lovely week! Thanks again for hosting #MLSTL.
love hearing good news. Our newsfeed is full of the bushfires, death and so much sadness. Yet amongst the bad is the good. The brumbies are smart horses and managed to outrun the fires in the snowy area. Thank you xx #MLSTL
I have been watching the news about the fires, Bree, and I do love the stories of survival and helpers that are coming out. I wish you all the best.
I’ve been feeling incredibly despondent about the world this month so I was very much attracted to your blog title- and something positive. We certainly do need a bit of pepping up from time to time instead of looking at the negatives.
I’m glad I could help shed some light on a little positive news, Christine.
Hi Christie, thanks for some positive news and sharing with us at #MLSTL. I know that there will always be violence, crime and other negatives in our world but we do need to focus our energy on the positive for our own mental health. Thank you for doing that and also for being part of our 100th #MLSTL party. Have a lovely week. xx
You’re welcome, Sue. I couldn’t agree more about the need to focus on the positive, even if for no other reason than to balance out our brain’s natural negativity bias. I always find much to smile about on #MLSTL, so thanks again for making that possible.
Hi Christie, thanks for sharing some good news and statistics with us about crime and violence. It’s such a horrible subject overall and typically we hear that side of it in the news. So thanks for giving us those positive stats! #MLSTL
It is hard to reconcile the statistical decline with what we hear on the news. We had a tragic domestic violence story in our local headlines just yesterday, and then the shooting in Seattle. It’s reassuring to hear that it isn’t an overall escalation. I’ll continue to do my best to spread kindness and to look for the positive. Thanks for stopping by and sharing your thoughts, Candi.
By the news, you wouldn’t know that crime, especially violent crime, is dropping. But with 24/7 tv, social media, etc., we’re seeing all of the crime, all of the time. It used to be that we’d hear about local crime and only occasionally hear about crime in other states when it was huge. But now we hear about every big and small instance. You couldn’t fit that all in during one local newscast at night or in your daily newspaper. A couple of years back, I wrote a blog post on Happy News and gave links to websites that focused on all the good news that happens daily but isn’t sensational enough to make it to your TV or your social media feed.
I love the idea of websites that focus specifically on happy news. I’m going to have to check that out. Those kinds of sites would be a good resource for my Happy Monday videos. Thanks for the tip, Jennifer.
Hallelujah for some good news. Paul often reads good news to me from an app he has. It is easy to get depressed and bogged down by the national news. We all need a feel good story now and then.
That’s great, Leslie. I’m going to look for an app like that. I have a news headline app, but it’s often bad news. As you said, I need some good news once in a while. Have a wonderful day!
Mainstream news outlets always tell the bad news, yes there’s bad news, there’s always been bad news but all news is not bad. They need to start telling some of the good news with happy stories because such does exist.
Well said, Dee. There is always bad news, but not all the news is bad. I hope all is well with you!