CHAPTER IX

What Fosters Crime


To lack of regard for law is mainly due the existence of
crime, for a perfect respect for law would involve entire
obedience to it. Yet crime continues and from time to time
breaks forth to such an extent as to give ground for a popular
impression that it is increasing out of proportion to our
growth as a nation. Now, while it may be fairly questioned
whether there is any actual increase of crime in the United
States, and while, on the contrary, observation would seem to
show an actual decrease, not only in crimes of violence, but
in all major crimes, there nevertheless exists to-day a
widespread contempt for the criminal law which, if it has not
already stimulated a general increase of criminal activity, is
likely to do so in the future. This contempt for the law is
founded not only upon actual conditions, but also upon belief
in conditions erroneously supposed to exist, which is fostered
by current literature and by the sensational press.

Thus, as has already been pointed out, while it is popularly
believed that women are almost never convicted of crime, and
particularly of homicide, the fact is, at least in New York
County, that a much greater proportion of women charged with