My perception might be skewed/biased due to increase in population, more mobility, & better reporting. There seems to be a lot more vandalism in the past 20-30 years than there was circa 60-70 years ago. Some examples in my geographical area (Northeast USA).5-10years ago, a group of young people broke into a home while the occupants were on vacation. They did $50,000 worth of damage: Smashed a grand piano, slashed some valuable paintings, defecated, et cetera. There have been similar, but less expensive damage to other homes broken into. The home invasions do not involve theft of valuable items. Recently there has been almost an epidemic of tire slashing: All 4 tires of cars ruined by a machete or similar item. There have been a few epidemics of rural mail boxes being destroyed by people (assumed to be teenagers) swinging a sledge hammer from a moving vehicle.The above are some of the worst examples. When I was 9-13, we often broke into empty houses to play & explore, but never to vandalize or steal. Psychopaths who become serial killers often have a history of killing/torturing animals. I wonder if vandalism is an indication of a less severe psychopathic personality than that of a potential serial killer. A related issue: Many on one violence. When I was a teenager, I was forced into fights when a stranger in some neighborhood. It was always a one-on-one challenge; there was no attempt to kill or seriously maim; Win, lose, or draw other members of the local gang did not interfere even if I won. BTW: I looked a bit more harmless than I actually was. If I seemed to be winning, I almost always said I had enough & wanted to quit fighting. This usually ended the current fight, although on my next visit to the neighborhood, a bigger memeber of the gang was likely to start the fight. In the past 30-40 plus years it could be very dangerous to wander into the wrong neighborhood. You were likely to be attacked & badly injured by a group using almost lethal tactics.
At that time young people visited more often a church , were a fear of God was induced, Now They question gods existence and you are the ultimate thing , no fear of anybody nor respect for any body . So this is the product we have.
