One of the comments I got the most from people during the just-concluded year of the Great Recession, when I mentioned that I was a criminal defense lawyer, went something along the lines of: "The economy's bad. The amount of crime must have shot through the roof." People assume that, when the economy is in the toilet, civilization instantly devolves into anarchy and crime soars. This, however, is a myth, or at least it was in Comal and Guadalupe Counties, where the number of criminal case filings were actually down significantly over the previous year.
According to the Texas Office of Court Administration, the number of Class A and B misdemeanors and felonies filed in Comal and Guadalupe County courts combined in 2009 fell by 16.3 percent from 2008. Case filings were down 20.5 percent in Comal County. In Guadalupe County, case filings were down 12.2 percent.
The decline in case filings can actually be tied to the bad economy. Remember that the the housing bubble burst in late 2007, and the ensuing recession began at the end of that same year. It just so happens that criminal case filings in Comal County peaked in 2006 and are down 23.8 percent since then. Guadalupe criminal case filings peaked in 2007 and are down 25.5 percent since then. Criminal case filings are down across the board, both misdemeanors and felony filings plunging in both counties.
But why? I don't know for sure, but I suspect it has something to do with our love of automobiles and how we change how we use them when the economy goes sour. The majority of cases that come through our office are somehow related to traffic stops. A cop stops someone for a routine traffic violation, or approaches someone whose car is parked in a suspicious place, and winds up stumbling across some other offense -- a DWI, illegal drugs sitting in the console, an illegal weapon in the driver's door pouch, etc. When the economy is bad, people tend to hunker down and drive less. They are then far less likely to have an unfortunate encounter with a police officer. Bad economy = less driving. Less driving = fewer contacts with cops. Fewer police contacts = fewer arrests. Fewer arrests = fewer jail-time cases filed in court.
On behalf of all criminal defense lawyers everywhere, here's hoping for a robust economic recovery in 2010. Let's get out there and drive, people. The economy is depending on you.