> 3) Doesn't explain the statistical violence peaks of the 1970s and 1980s in our society.
The statistical increase in crime rates that peaked then is largely well explained by the baby boom of the 1940s and 1950s and the widely-observed correlation between crime and the proportion of population that is adolescent to young adult males.
> 4) We are at one of the least violent and peaceful decades in US History
Which is also largely well explained by the same demographic effects.
Lead exposure through lead in gasoline also can explain some of both of these effects, as noted in other comments.
It's also noteworthy that most of the drug war is being fought in Mexico, where drug-related murders went up by a factor of 6 between 2006 and 2011. Also note that while we've had a small dip, we're still near an all-time high when it comes to incarceration rates in the US, despite lower crime rates.
The impression I get is that the entire illicit drug trade vertically integrated to increase profits and localized the competition aspect between suppliers (killing each other) to a geographic location where law enforcement is less capable and easier to buy off.
> The statistical increase in crime rates that peaked then is largely well explained by the baby boom of the 1940s and 1950s and the widely-observed correlation between crime and the proportion of population that is adolescent to young adult males.
Crime rates are based per 1000 so it is percentage based and not population based.
BUT the correlation young adult males makes senses. Right now we are starting the smallest proportion of young adult males that US has ever seen and it is going to keep getting smaller. I should dive into the percentage of young adult males and the crime rate and see what I come up with.
the baby boom is relevant not because of the overall size of the population, but because it created a demographic bulge that reached the critical age range starting in the 1960s, and peaking somewhere in the late 1970s to 1980s.
The statistical increase in crime rates that peaked then is largely well explained by the baby boom of the 1940s and 1950s and the widely-observed correlation between crime and the proportion of population that is adolescent to young adult males.
> 4) We are at one of the least violent and peaceful decades in US History
Which is also largely well explained by the same demographic effects.
Lead exposure through lead in gasoline also can explain some of both of these effects, as noted in other comments.