Informative Speech Outline

I

Two weeks ago, Tuesday, October 23, I was woken up right around 2:00 am to my roommates speaking with two unfamiliar voices. I went out in the living room to investigate and found a security guard and a police officer gathering details of a robbery for a police report. 1) Turns out one of my roommates left his window open; someone popped the screen out and grabbed his computer right off his desk. 2) As the police officer later let us know, this was the 5th report of burglaries in Hidden Hills for that night.

Not the most comforting thing to hear before you fall asleep.

II

Today I am going to talk to you about the crime rate in Kalamazoo and how it matches up to the rest of the nation and I will explain some factors that influence the statistics, and tell you about the most common crimes in the country. Body I. As I started researching this topic, I was convinced that I would find nothing but information on skyrocketing crime rates. However, I was pleasantly surprised to find that the national rate is steadily decreasing and Kalamazoo is no exception. ) In a 2012 article from the Kalamazoo Gazette Emily Monacelli reported that, “Serious crimes in the city dropped for the second consecutive year and have declined by 23 percent since 2007” a) Evidence has shown that crime is trending downward b) Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety’s annual report to the FBI showed that officers handle 4,110 serious crimes in 2011, down from 4,234 in 2010 and 5,332 in 2007. 2) The overall crime rate in the U. S. is decreasing right along with Kalamazoo.

The decline in recent years is especially puzzling to professionals due to assumptions that crime typically increases during recessions. a) Violent crimes have largely declined in recent years to what appears to be the lowest rate in nearly 40 years. b) Statistics from the FBI’s Uniform Crime Report estimated that in 2011 there were 1,203,564 violent crimes nationwide, a decrease of 3. 8 percent from the 2010 estimate. Transition: Now that you know a little bit about the numbers that we’re dealing with, I’ll tell you about a couple of the factor that influence the crime rate.

James Alan Fox, a criminologist at Northeastern University, gives credit to “a combination of factors” for the reduction in criminal acts. 1) Fox claims that a greater use of technology in law enforcement has greatly affected the decline in crimes. Improvements to forensic sciences, expanded criminal databases, and GPS all give police an added advantage over criminals. 2) Increased incarceration and longer sentences for inmates in recent years have also kept criminals off the streets. ) Another factor that has manipulated the crime rate is that potential victims are better protecting themselves. a) Research from the Wall Street Journal claims that more and more citizens are equipping their homes with burglar alarms, adding extra locks on doors, and moving into safer neighborhoods. b) Additionally, according to the FBI, “states with right-to-carry laws have a 22 percent lower total violent crime rate, a 30 percent lower murder rate, a 46 percent lower robbery rate and a 12 percent lower aggravated assault rate compared to the rest of the country”.

III

Crime can be categorized into 2 sections violent crime or property crime.First off, the most common violent crimes. The most common violent crime committed is aggravated assault which makes up 62. 5 percent of all violent crimes. Aggravated assault is the crime of physically attacking another person which results in serious bodily harm. Next, property crimes, which involve the taking of property or money and does not impose force or threat on the victim. Larceny-theft is the most common form of property crime, taking up 68. 2 percent of that category. Larceny-theft is the unlawful taking of the property of another by an individual who plans to deprive the owner of it.

Conclusion

So, today I have told you some statistics about the crime rate in the United States and Kalamazoo, some factors that influence the decrease in crime around the country, and the most common crimes committed in America. I hope you use what I have told you to better prepare yourself for potential crimes against you.

References

1. Lane, C. (2011, December 27). Triumph over crime.
2. The Washington Post. Neuhauer, C. (2011, September 20).
3. Numbers in decline for 4 years; Murders, rapes, assaults and robberies continue drop nationally. The Washington Times. Shuler, H. , Stearns, C. (2011, November 14).
4. Nation needs right-to-carry reciprocity; Responsible gun owners shouldn’t have to disarm at state lines. The Washington Times. Oppel, R. A. , Goldstein, J. (2011, May 24)
5. Steady decline in major crime baffles experts. The New York Times. Moran, R. (2011, September 20).
6. Crime rates continue to fall, FBI reports. The Philadelphia Inquirer. Monacelli, E. (2012, February 21).
7. Kalamazoo crime rates dropped again in 2011, according to city. The Kalamazoo Gazette.