Crimes are common where the gun is abundant

It is often noted that America incarcerates more of its citizens than any nation on earth. This is an embarrassment to us, and we rush to let out drug offenders and others.

But, only one in five are incarcerated for drug offenses. Even if we free all of them, we remain the most incarcerated nation on earth.

Has it gone unnoticed on us that we also have more weapons per capita than any nation on earth? We have more people in prison and we have more people possessing the tools with which crimes are often committed. Could their be a connection?

Yes, I am aware that violent crime is said to be down. I am also aware that most crimes are not reported to police and most crimes are not solved. Your statistics can be skewed by the absence of ability to apprehend the criminal.

I know this: If the tools of crime abound, it makes sense that the crimes will abound. We should at least wonder if there is a connection between us being the most incarcerated nation on earth and being the nation with the most tools used for the commission of crimes.

I only say it appears to be a factor: One reason we have so many in jail is that we have so many weapons used for crimes. Yes, there might be greater reasons for our high incarceration rate, but I cannot but wonder if this is one.

A lot of people are incarcerated because we have a lot of criminals. Can we be open to this possibility?

I think of countries were wives are beaten, and there is no law against it. In America, there are laws against domestic violence. I judge these laws to be just. They may lead to a higher incarceration rate than found in nations that do not so value the right of the women not to be abused.

Abuse of a child can get you tossed in jail. In America. More so than in other nations.

So, our higher standards lead to our higher incarceration rates. This surely is a factor. Maybe the largest -- I do not know.

But, the gun is a factor, as well. It would be interesting to study Britain, where the gun is not allowed, and compare offenses involving weapons there with offenses involving weapons here. Which country tosses more in jail for such crimes?

Surely, America.

I searched to find what percentage of incarcerations in America are for violent crimes. Surely, that is a statistic that is common. Still, I did not find it. Is it 8 percent? I may have seen in an index the suggestion it is just 8 percent. But, when I called up the story, I could not find the reference to 8 percent.

But, I did find this, at ucr.fbi.gov: "Violent crime is composed of four offenses: murder and nonnegligent manslaughter, rape, robbery, and aggravated assault. Violent crimes are defined by the UCR Program as those offenses that involve force or threat of force." The two sentences quoted seem at variance with each other, to me. Are we saying murder, manslaughter, rape and robbery are the only things we consider violent crimes? Or are we saying anything force or threat of force is a violent crime? Much of domestic violence would be left out of the first definition, it would seem.

What percentage of our crimes are for weapons charges? Should we sent these people to jail? Or, as we have with drug violators, should we set more of these people free? Even if we do, I hold to the question: Does one of the reasons we have so many criminals lie in the fact we have more people committing crimes with weapons?

Crimes are often committed with weapons. If you increase the number of weapons in a land, does the number of crimes occasionally go up?