The United States is by far, the most violent and self-destructive nation on Earth, according to the Judiciary Committee of Violence. Crime has always been a serious problem all nations face, but the crime rate in the United States has increased dramatically during the past decade. While many factors have helped contribute to make the United States the world leader in violence, the factors that affect the crime rate most significantly are the age, gender, and social class of offenders.Research has shown that there is a significant relationship between age and the crime rate. Young people from ages 15 to 25 are responsible for a tremendous portion of arrests and the increasing crime rate. They are involved in almost half of all serious crimes. In the Age and Explanation of Crime, Travis Hirschi states that: regardless of personal characteristics, younger persons commit more crime than older ones. Lifestyle and society play an important part in why there is such a big increase in crime among young people. The lifestyle of younger people favor risk taking and behavior that can lead them into crime. On the other hand, younger people these days tend to want to grow up much more faster. That attitude also forces them to want wealth or success to come more faster or easier. In a society where success is often measured in dollars, many youths these days will go out of their way to get it.While men have always had a much higher crime rate than females, the crime rated for females have rapidly increased during the past decade. This could be due to the changing role of woman inn society. In The Contemporary Woman and Crime, Rita James Simon states that, As womens roles in the workplace have become more similar to mens, it is not surprising that their crime rates are converging. Also, many women are being arrested these days because police officers are more willing to arrest female offenders. There is a significant change in attitudes toward fema...
