Mrs.PatsFanInVa

People keep talking about the "soaring crime rates" associated with illegal immigrants as one of the most valid reasons to pass and enforce stringent (and possibly unconstitutional) laws.

It's not borne out, however.

Crime rates in Arizona at lowest point in decades. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS), the violent crime rate in Arizona was lower in 2006, 2007, and 2008 -- the most recent year from which data are available -- than any year since 1983. The property crime rate in Arizona was lower in 2006, 2007, and 2008 than any year since 1968. In addition, in Arizona, the violent crime rate dropped from 577.9 per 100,000 population in 1998 to 447 per 100,000 population in 2008; the property crime rate dropped from 5,997 to 4,291 during the same period. During the same decade, Arizona's undocumented immigrant population grew rapidly. The Arizona Republic reported: "Between January 2000 and January 2008, Arizona's undocumented population grew 70 percent, according to the DHS [Department of Homeland Security] report. Nationally, it grew 37 percent."

Defending AZ law, Peters falsely claims crime rates are "soaring" in border states | Media Matters for America

khayos

Those numbers aren't tying out...

http://www.azdps.gov/About/Reports/d...eport_2008.pdf

EDIT: Comparing the earliest report 2002 to 2008 crime appears down in total, which is great. What I found eye opening is that while according to this:

http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/04000.html

The total population of Arizona is 30% Hispanic, the overall crimes hover between 46-50% attributable to Hispanic origin.

Mrs.PatsFanInVa

I'm trying to compare the two but I've got a new computer and it's not cooperating.

Ik you can tell me exactly what it is that isn't tying out(?) I'd appreciate it.

I did notice that the statistics you quote do bear out that crime has gone down from 2007 to 2008, however.

TOTAL INDEX CRIMES
2007 - 303,467
2008 - 281,305
Percent Change -7.30

Murders were down, as were forcible rapes, aggravated assaults, burglaries, larceny-thefts and motor vehicle thefts. There was a slight increase in robberies, less than .25% and a significant increase in arsons at +4.79%

khayos

Right -- so the person that MediaMatters is pointing to appears to have incorrectly stated that crime is "soaring" by which we read that at is being crime is up when the statistics show otherwise. Now that isn't to say that crime going from very high to high means no steps should be taken as ideally you move the number of crimes to zero.

patsfan13

It is possible because media matters as a leftist organ cherry picks their data.


If you go to the crime data for Alaska for example you will find crime per capita down there also by > 20%, I picked Ak because I don't hear of a large illegal alien population there.

I would note however that AK's crime rates are about 2/3rds of Az. I suppose if I were as stupid/dishonest as the people at Media Matters I would claim that Az had a higher crime rate due to the presence of illegal aliens......

I love how gullible and easily fooled libs are by statistics.

__________________
"Some guys play in all-star games, some guys don't. I don't know who picks all those all-star teams. In all honesty, I don't know who picks the combine, for that matter," Belichick said. "How does (Miami-Ohio offensive lineman Brandon) Brooks not get invited to the combine? How did Vollmer not get invited to the combine? I don't know. We can't really worry about that. We just have to try to evaluate them the best we can."

Mrs.PatsFanInVa

True, how stupid of them to pick the Department of Justice's figures to use. Definate "cherry picking" there.

I'll tell you what - you find me the "true" figures, ok? Better tet, since I know from past experiences that you tend to totally ignore any and all requests for actual facts to back up your arguments - simply check out the line provided by Khayos which is directly from Arizona themselves.

Crime rates are still down. You're still wrong.


If you go to any state you'll find crime data is down. It's a fact all over the United States. I'm unsure what that has to do with anything in specific. The accusation was made that Arizona's crime rate was "soaring." The fact is - it is not only not soaring, it is going down.

And I love how you don't even need statistics to be fooled. You don't need anything at all.

patsfan13

The point MM matters was trying to make is that illegal immigrants had not caused crime stats to go up.....

Crime rates are down your figures have nothing to say whether the rates would be lower or higher absent illegal immigrants. That is why i used the fact that AK had a drop in crime rate to illustrate the uselessness of the MM 'analysis'.


Apparently the point went over your head. I will try to dumb down things the next time.


BTW the FBI isn't tracking the number of illegals as a crime stat since people here illegally are by definition committing a crime.

__________________
"Some guys play in all-star games, some guys don't. I don't know who picks all those all-star teams. In all honesty, I don't know who picks the combine, for that matter," Belichick said. "How does (Miami-Ohio offensive lineman Brandon) Brooks not get invited to the combine? How did Vollmer not get invited to the combine? I don't know. We can't really worry about that. We just have to try to evaluate them the best we can."

Harry Boy

Crime rates are down for the Liberals because the Liberals sympathy lies with The Criminal.

__________________
Harry Boy (Genius)

In The Absence Of Law And Order Society Will Surely Destroy Itself

Michael

Nothing like an open carry state to keep the crime rate down.

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PatsWSB47

Yeah but her point was that these stats illustrate a declining crime rate not the other way around as people are saying as the reason for the new law, so don’t deflect......that said I think Media Matters among others would have us think that the border problem is all in our heads and that any new, stricter reforms are unnecessary and probably racist. Some won’t come out and say it but the innuendoes are there.