by El Zorro Viejo (aka; Jim)

Ron, thanks for dropping by and leaving a comment. I think that, as a percentage of the population, there are no more predators now than there have ever been. However, as the population base grows, the absolute number of predators also grows. Now, since the total area we populate is not increasing, the result is that the density of predators is also increasing.

Anecdotal data suggests that we are more at risk today than we were fifty years ago. A rigorous study may disprove this perception, but I tend to think it wouldn't. You are most likely correct when you state that news collection methods have become more effective, and that this is one of the reasons we perceive that there are more dangerous citizens out there. Of course, if I am right, the opportunity to collect evidence of heinous crimes becomes more frequent. So the end result is probably that we are both describing the same phenomenon, just from different perspectives.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License. ©El Zorro Viejo 2002-2005