things arc not tile sa<br > level comes to seem<br > modcrn society. It is r<br > otf， in this respect， tha<br > IllllCh worse， however<br > (;riminal statistics<br > This book is about why there is so much crime in Amer- of one country s statL，<br >md what we can do about it. No one living in a major differcnces in national<br >:rican city needs much convincing that despite more than a violence， which we ri<br >de of cver-"toughcr" policies against crime， the United States transcend the limitatk<br >fins wracked by violence and fear. Criminal violence is have faced roughly sm<br >en deeply into our social fabricIa brutal and appalling aft- cidc as thc residents ot<br > to any reasonable conception of civilized social life. closcst F;uropcan COlT<br >In recent months， these incidents took place in the United wc murder one anotl-<br >~ s: In Illinois， armed marauders attacked travelers on an inter- Finns do.<br > highway， robbing the occupants of two cars and killing a l hcse differences<br >vc-year-old boy. In Florida， a passing motorist s intervention America s "frontier" e<br >ly saved a young woman from attack by a crowd of nearly thcsc arc important， bu<br >ndrcd men. In New York， gangs of youths robbed and [)eat sions of these interne<br >icipants in a charity walkathon in Central Park. In Fort l~au- traditions， Australia at<br >lale， Fh)rida， a bandit held up an entire church congregation spcctivcly， less than a f，<br >ng an evening service. Not far away， near Pompano Beach， their numbers are rou<br >intrcpid men broke into a prison and robbed two inmates， almost six times as ot<br >7nited States senator and his companion， on their way to rcflccl thc rclative ease<br >ler with the mayor of New York， were mugged by two men guns: more (;alifornian<br >down the street from the mayor s mansion. In l，os Angeles， ans arc l)y all means pl<br >en people died in a single weekend in e isodes of youth-gang internationally， in hon<br >:ncc， while the home of the chief of the Los Angeles Police What holds for ho<br >artment was burglarized--twice， of violence， l lere the<br >l hc put)lic response to criminal violence has become corre- grcatcr prol)lems of de<br >ldi0gly bitter and even desperate. Three-fifths of the Ameri- search rcvcals that Am<br >public expressed their support for a self-styled vigilante who to bc raped than Wes<br > down four young black men after they asked him for five robbed. "l hcse rates we<br >