There is not an economic collapse1. I'm a black dude from Canada
2. At least a dozen major factors and a hundred minor ones. But if we just go with the idea that stricter enforcement is the reason behind any type of decline, then we simply need to look at the places with the harshest laws in comparison to places with more lax laws. In both cases, the trend upward and downward is uniform across the United States despite the severity of punishment in different state and local jurisdictions. For example, in a city like Chicago a gun offender may face more severe consequences than in Seattle, but both places have seen a rise in gun crimes increasing at roughly the same rate.
3. There is a total economic collapse and the extreme concentration of wealth. The inner city is becoming more of a favela. As the poor get poorer and people become more desperate everyone becomes a criminal. How many millions of Americans scammed EDD with no consequences? Doesn't that make America a nation of criminals? Crime in and of itself is a social construct. Desperation is on the rise and this is the outcome.
and this is not crime to put food on the table
like you said, you’re from Canada

