Guns

[EricMM]

No no no.

 

Murder is down because people are surviving attacks in greater numbers than they were before. Shock trauma services have gotten so much better that less people are being murdered because they are suviving murder attempts...

[Jingus]

That's probably got something to do with it, but not the whole answer. Murder rates have a life on their own. They were low at the turn of the century, rose sharply during the 20s, dropped again around WWII, started rising sharply once again in the late 60s, peaked in 1980, slowly dropped a little bit over the next fifteen years, and then dropped dramatically in the late 90s. The quality of emergency room service can't singlehandedly explain all that.

[The Metal Maniac]

Prohibition and crack (which I believe hit the scene in the 80's), and the resulting crime, probably were factors as well.

[Guest My Pal, the Tortoise]

single improvised mothers?

They enjoy jazz.