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According to Freakonomics, low crime rates are due to birth control and/or the ability of couples to decide when and where they want to have kids. [edit: birth

• crazygringo 14y ago
  That argument is one theory, highly controversial. I'm certainly not saying it doesn't play a part, but it's still a hotly debated question among experts as to what is ultimately responsible for the crime drop. Most likely, it's due to a combination of factors, for the basic reason that social phenomena like crime tend to be very complicated. We would be extraordinarily lucky if it could be pinned down a single, simple explanation. And while the socioeconomic distribution of the population would be expected to play a part (which is certainly affected by family planning), it would be highly unlikely for progress in policing techniques not to play a part at all.