Most Americans are convinced that America has become much more dangerous. One reason is that cities really are considerably more violent than they were between 1945 and 1965, when middle-aged Americans were growing up. Another is that mass media has a very selective approach to crime statistics. To complicate matters, government agencies issue contradictory reports on crime. In reality, violence fluctuates a lot in relatively short periods. As a result, the recent upturn does not prove any clear long-term trend. Violence is a product of many conflicting influences, all of which are constantly changing. In most periods of history these changes roughly offset one another. Occasionally, a lot of the factors that influence violence all change in the same direction at roughly the same time. When this happens, the level of violence changes substantially. Instead of trying to understand the causes of crime, the concentration should be on the cures, such as better prevention and treatment of child abuse and more funding and resources for the prison system.