VALDOSTA — Finding answers to why violent crime is committed takes into account a variety of factors.

Economics, age, race, weather, population density all play a role in violent crime.

Dr. F.E. Knowles Jr., assistant professor of criminal justice at Valdosta State University, has not delved into the specifics of the incidents that have occurred in Valdosta and Lowndes County.

He can, however, delve into the generalities of violent crime and its most common stimulators and perpetrators.

“In the last 20 years or so, we have enjoyed a downturn in the instances of violent crime as reported by the Uniform Crime Report,” Knowles said. “We’re not really made aware of that, the general public is not made aware of that, but that has been the case. We are rather lead to believe that we live in the most violent time ever and that’s simply not the case.”

Though the trend has been downward, that doesn’t mean communities can’t see periodic spikes upward, he said.

“We should see these at first glance only as isolated incidents,” Knowles said.

To tie the incidents together, they would have to occur over a chronological period with a spike that is maintained over time, which would constitute a trend, he said.

Trends affect policy in regards to dealing with violent crime, Knowles said.

There are elements in today’s world that exacerbate crime, he said.

“The economic downturn for one thing is always going to have an effect on the crime picture,” Knowles said. “You would think it wouldn’t really reflect with an economic downturn except maybe on robbery, but it does affect homicides because people have less tolerance of each other when they are on edge about things.”

Other factors include high unemployment, dense populations and dense urbanization.

“It would have been a more predictable scenario if these events had happened in June, July or August,” he said.

With hot weather, people are out more, out later and the heat can make people irritable and quick to anger, Knowles said.

“Racial unrest can enter into it, if in fact violence crosses racial lines, which in a majority of cases of violent crime it does not cross racial lines. It stays within a racial category,” he said.