Darastic Drop In Crime In The Movie Freakanomics

In the movie Freakanomics there are about five to eight examples given that could possible explain the darastic drop in crime since the crime waves of the ‘80s and earlyer decades. The person that most people acredit the cleaning of New York Citys streets to, is formar Mayor Giuliani. Giulian is often thought of the man who cleaned up New York, however, acording to Freakanomics crime was on a nation wide decline, and the city would have been cleaned up no mater who took office. Therfor the movie completly discredits this therory. A therory that was said to have actually worked lowering nation wide crime rates was the crack down on criminals. People who broke the law were given harsher punishments, and the number of prison sentences increased. Prior to the crack

down on crime many arrested individuals where not given prison sentences. Today there are over 2 million incarcerated Americans. This has kept crimals off the streets, thus making the streets safer. Other resons for the drope in crime shown in the movie are the decline in crack and other drugs, improved policing stragay, and lastly a strong economy of the late ‘90s and early 2000’s

Wile all of the reson that Freakanomics gives seem like they would darasticly lower the crime, they only account for about one half of the drope.

The movie says that we can thank the land mark supream court case Roe v. Wade for the other fifty persent or so. Roe v Wade was disided on in 1973 and it legalized abortion in the United States. Acording to the movie this new law and an accidental impact that lowered the crime rate by about half. The reson is that befor the law was created wemon did not have a choice. If they were carying a child that they did not want it the mother was forced to have it. Since these kids were unwanted they were not treated as well by there parents. It is more likly that a child who is neglected or not treated properly will turn to crime in the teens and early adulthood, says Freakanomics. As soon as the 90s hit a steep drop in crime acured. This is not by accident, the movie says, its because it is the first generation of teens to have been filtered by abourtion. The combonation of less unwanted children, an increas in policing, and harsher punishments for crimanals, as well as a drop in the illigal narcodics market, can all be creddited to the drop in crime since the late

80s.