What Increases & Decreases Crime

What increases crime? According to the book Freedomnomics (2007) by John R. Lott, Jr., Ph. D. it is:

• Legalized abortion. An unmarried woman becomes pregnant. Her partner who feels he has been tricked doesn't want the baby and expects her to have an abortion because it is legalized. She does not want to have an abortion for whatever reason. He leaves her to take care of the baby alone.
• Affirmative action hiring in the police force. The police force lowers testing standards for new recruits so its population matches the demographic ratio of the surrounding community. It lowers testing standards by replacing cognitive or intelligence exams with more nebulous psychological tests that aim to gauge a candidate's temperament. Also, the police force implements affirmative action programs by assigning different standards to different groups of candidates in order to ensure similar pass rates.

What decreases crime?

• The death penalty. The author lists nine independent publications that support this position. Three independent publications say it has no effect either way. No publication says it increases crime.
• Police arresting criminals.
• Right-to-carry laws. The author found that significant evidence that criminals move out of areas where concealed handguns are legalized. Fifteen journal publications say that right-to-carry laws reduce violent crime. Ten publications say the laws have no effect either way. No publication say it increases violent crime according to the book.