suspect arrested for the same crime. These trends
were largely the result of a national drug policy that
focused far more on inner-city crimes than on simi-
lar crimes taking place in the suburbs.
Some other trends in crime in the United States
during the 1980’s were as follows: Young African
American males were more likely than not to be vic-
tims of crime overall; however, young people in gen-
eral, notwithstanding race, experienced high rates
of crime. Men committed crimes at higher rates
than did women, while women were more likely to
be victims than men, particularly older white fe-
males. Urban areas were made safer over the course
of the decade; however, it remained the case that cit-
ies experienced higher crime rates than did rural
and suburban areas.
Crime in Canada Canadian crime statistics trended
largely in the opposite direction of U.S. statistics dur-
ing the decade, as criminal activity rose steadily.
When compared to Europeans, Canadians were
more likely to be victims of serious crimes, including
assault, sexual offenses, burglary, and robbery. These
statistics alarmed experts; as a result, the 1980’s be-
came a decade as pivotal in Canadian criminal and
legal history as it was in U.S. history.
One alarming trend was that a large percentage
of crimes went unreported to policing agencies such
as the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP). For
instance, only 10 percent of sexual assaults, 32 per-
cent of other assaults, and 50 percent of property-
related crimes were reported. Meanwhile, of sexual
assault victims (primarily women), 31 percent were
attacked by someone they knew, such as a relative, a
neighbor, or an acquaintance. Experts point to the
likelihood that crimes such as sexual offenses were
not reported to the police precisely because victims
knew their attackers. By the end of the decade, both
provincial and federal governments began to spend
tremendous amounts of money to combat crime
and to enact statutes and crime-reduction policies
that would help Canadians feel safer.
During the 1980’s, Canada began to incorporate
a philosophy known as “restorative justice” into its
public policy. Restorative justice seeks to restore the
relationships harmed by a crime and to heal the
damages caused by that crime. These include dam-
ages to victims, to communities, and to the offend-
ers. In addition, preventative measures were adopted
to keep the most likely offenders from committing
crimes, and efforts were made to rehabilitate crimi-
nals, restoring them to an acceptable role in society.
Young people were particularly targeted for these
preventive and rehabilitative efforts, because crimi-
nal activity among youthful Canadians had increased
in the previous decade. In 1984, therefore, Parlia-The Eighties in America Crime 263
United States Crime Rates Per 100,000 Inhabitants, 1980-1989Year 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989
Population 225,349,264 229,146,000 231,534,000 233,981,000 236,158,000 238,740,000 240,132,887 243,400,000 245,807,000 248,239,000
All crimes 5,950.0 5,858.2 5,603.7 5,175.0 5,031.3 5,207.1 5,480.4 5,550.0 5,664.2 5,741.0
Violent 596.6 594.3 571.1 537.7 539.2 556.6 620.1 609.7 637.2 663.1
Property 5,353.3 5,263.8 5,032.5 4,637.3 4,492.1 4,650.5 4,881.8 4,940.3 5,027.1 5,077.9
Murder 10.2 9.8 9.1 8.3 7.9 8.0 8.6 8.3 8.4 8.7
Forcible rape 36.8 36.0 34.0 33.7 35.7 37.1 38.1 37.4 37.6 38.1
Robbery 251.1 258.7 238.9 216.5 205.4 208.5 226.0 212.7 220.9 233.0
Aggravated
assault 298.5 289.7 289.1 279.2 290.2 302.9 347.4 351.3 370.2 383.4
Burglary 1,684.1 1,649.5 1,488.8 1,337.7 1,263.7 1,287.3 1,349.8 1,329.6 1,309.2 1,276.3
Larceny/theft 3,167.0 3,139.7 3,084.9 2,869.0 2,791.3 2,901.2 3,022.1 3,081.3 3,134.9 3,171.3
Vehicle theft 502.2 474.7 458.9 430.8 437.1 462.0 509.8 529.5 582.9 630.4Source:Federal Bureau of Investigation Uniform Crime Reports and the Disaster Center.