The whole question hinges on one's perception:
IE: When your neighbor gets laid off, . . . it's a recession, . . . when you get laid off, . . . it becomes a depression.
IE: Conflict 12,000 miles from here is a police action, . . . 100 miles from here it is called war, . . . if it is just down the street, . . . it's called a Living Hell or a riot.
And I agree that the overall "per capita" crime level may be down, I don't have perfect access to those figures, . . . but in the 1950's there was not at least 2 shootings and a bank robbery every day in Columbus, Ohio.
Today, . . . that is the norm, . . . the two lead off stories almost every night, . . . "Another shooting on the (take your choice: near East side, on the West side, in the North East) followed by one in one of the other places, . . . then the bank robbery(s).
Lately, . . . the OSU area has seen several armed robberies of students, . . . something practically unheard of when I was hanging out in that area 40 years ago.
The world is getting meaner, . . . less helpful, . . . more petty, . . . less trusting, . . . less caring, . . . and just in general, . . . more ripe for a global conflict that will seriously deplete the numbers.
May God bless,
Dwight