The New York Times makes a great point in this article: Despite all of the studies, research and predictions of doom, we have almost NO IDEA what causes crime rates to go up or down. Notably, crime is down in most cities, despite the horrible economy and elevated rates of unemployment -- things that, you would think, might lead to more crime.
Better policing has been a key in some cases, but abortion rates, drug use, etc. -- none of it can explain the crime rate.
