Portland Phoenix interviews Barkan about maine crime trends
The Portland Phoenix spoke with Steve Barkan, a criminologist and professor of sociology at the University of Maine, for an article about crime trends in Maine. State data revealed that crime decreased 9.1 percent overall in 2013 — the largest decrease in 20 years, according to the article. However, a recent increase in murders, armed robberies and manhunts have some wondering about changes in statistics, the article states. “I haven’t seen this year’s crime statistics yet, but even if there are more serious crimes so far than last year, the year is barely more than half over, and it’s far too early to know whether this represents a trend or just a blip,” said Barkan, whose areas of expertise include criminology, deviant behavior, and law and society. “So many things can affect crime statistics, including whether people are more or less likely to report victimizations to police and whether the police have consistent crime recording processes from year to year. One bottom line is that Maine remains one of the lowest crime (and therefore safest) states in the nation, even when controlling for population size.”