Where did all the criminals go?

http://travel.cnn.com/explorations/none/asias-10-dumbest-criminals-last-10-years-750651/ 

Matt Rodgers
Blog post #5
Where did all the criminals go?

•  This chapter in Freakonomics speaks on what economic factors lead to decreases in crime.

•  The chapter begins with an odd story about a European tyrant who banned abortions in hopes of strengthening his country. Ironically the new boost in childbirth is what lead to his death. Those babies this tyrant was responsible for birthing are the very people who killed him. It then switches over to the US to talk about how in the 90s where crime was at its peak. 

•  The main reason for decreases in crime during the 1990s was due to the sharp increased rate of imprisonment. The book goes on to talk about how expensive it is to keep all these minorities imprisoned. Stating figures such as, ¨It costs $25,000 a year to keep someone incarcerated,¨ Not only is keeping these people stressful on the taxpayers but prison is also typically viewed as a way to keep down minorities.

•  The book also talks about how the death penalty is not the reason why crime dropped. While executions in the 90s quadrupled its rate from past years, it is not safe to say that it deters crime. The chance of death on death row is 2% the foot soldiers from last chapter face a much higher risk of death (7%) selling drugs on the street for $3.50 an hour. 

•  The death penalty is not enough incentive for criminals to stop committing crimes but lengthy prison sentences and increased conviction rates are enough incentives to get criminals to stop committing crimes.