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Urban crime and violence: Conditions and trends53robbery, as well as property crime, indicated by burglary – anon-violent but nonetheless serious crime. Furthermore,this chapter considers a variety of public order offences,such as corruption, organized crime and trafficking offences,including drugs, arms and human trafficking.10,0008000NorthAmericaTHE INCIDENCE ANDVARIABILITY OF CRIME ANDVIOLENCECrimes and violence are unevenly distributed across theglobe and within nations and cities. Nevertheless, they arepernicious, continuing threats to human security, generally,and especially for the poor, who are disproportionatelyvictimized as individuals and whose communities arestrongly affected. While crime and violence must be consideredthrough the lens of unique local contexts andcircumstances, trends in crime and violence can also be seenat much broader levels. This section reviews some of theglobal, regional, national and city data for serious contact,property and public order crimes.Global and regional crime conditions andtrendsFigure 3.1, based on United Nations surveys, shows thatcrime rates at both the global and regional levels haveincreased steadily over the period of 1980 to 2000, risingabout 30 per cent from 2300 crimes per 100,000 to over3000 per 100,000 individuals. 21 But this is not the case forall regions. Some crime rates, such as those in NorthAmerica, fell significantly over these two decades eventhough the general level of crime was higher there than forother regions, except for the European Union (EU) beginningin approximately 1999. Crime in Latin America and theCaribbean regions rose during this period, reflecting, in part,political transitions from autocracy to democracy and civilconflict. Data for the EU disguises the fact that states haveexperienced variable crime rates, with increases in someEastern European nations and decreases in some WesternEuropean nations. African data has been excluded since onlya relatively few African states provided crime survey data forthe indicated period.Comparatively high general crime levels in higherincomeregions of North America and Europe are explainedby the greater propensity of people to report crimes of alltypes to the police, whereas in middle- and lower-incomenations, serious offences, such as violent contact offences,are more often reported than property crimes. Crime ratesin middle-income nations are likely to increase as the spreadof technology offers more opportunities for things to stealand as people have increased abilities to report crimes to thepolice. 22Although the levels of crime are higher in NorthAmerica, this is also where the most significant declines areevident. Despite many competing explanations for thedecrease, one suggestion attributes this to countermeasuresthat have been enacted, especially in the US. 23 Nonetheless,6000400020000All countriesof the worldEuropeanUnion1980 1985 1990 19952000much of the decline in crimes in North America is due to thedecrease in property crimes, which constitute the vast bulkof crimes and are more likely to be reported in industrializedcountries vis-à-vis developing ones.National crime conditions and trendsLatin Americaand the CaribbeanWhen various types of crimes for all income groups areaggregated cross-nationally, the sums are staggering. Forexample, there were almost 50 million property and violentcrimes recorded by police in 34 industrialized and industrializingcountries in 2001 alone. 24 These nations account forless than one fifth of the world’s population according to2006 estimates, 25 which makes the numbers even morecompelling when it is considered that many crimes are notreported. Moreover, crime statistics routinely undercountpoor victims and those from marginalized communities,where crime is likely to be more pervasive. Large nationssuch as the US, Russia and the UK consistently account for amajor share of crime incidents, although their rates havevaried considerably within each country over the pastdecade. Moreover, crime rates differ significantly betweencountries and are not always explained by sheer populationsize. For example, based on 2001 data, the US had about sixtimes the crime rate of Cyprus (3658 crimes per 100,000versus 595 crimes per 100,000 individuals), but 383 timesCounts and ratesdecreased10 (19%)Counts increasedbut rates decreased4 (8%)Counts and ratesincreased38 (73%)Figure 3.1Total recorded crimetrends per 100,000individuals in selectedregions of the worldSource: Shaw et al, 2003, p42Crime statisticsroutinelyundercount poorvictims and thosefrom marginalizedcommunities, wherecrime is likely to bemore pervasiveFigure 3.2Police-recorded crimesand attempts for 52countries: Changes incounts and rates(2001–2002) 26Source: Adapted fromUNODC, 2005a, Table 2.1