Many Americans are already painfully aware that violent crime is experiencing a massive upsurge in the United States.  As the U.S. economy has tanked and as unemployment has skyrocketed, many Americans have found themselves becoming increasingly desperate.  Hard economic times usually lead to an increase in crime, but what is happening across the U.S. now is absolutely stunning.  In economically-troubled areas such as Detroit crime statistics are climbing into the stratosphere.  In fact, there are many communities in the United States where it is simply not safe to go out at night anymore.  Millions of Americans find themselves prisoners in their own homes as they lock themselves in their houses in an attempt to keep the crime out.  The truth is that it is really hard to live the American Dream when there is a raging crime wave going on right outside your door.  The truly frightening thing is that crime is almost certainly going to get even worse as economic conditions continue to deteriorate.

The following are ten facts about crime in the United States that will blow your mind....

#1) The city of Detroit, Michigan literally looks like a war zone and violent crime is thriving.  So far this year in Detroit, car thefts are up 83%, robberies are up 50%, burglaries are up 20% and property destruction is up 42%.

#2) Lawmakers in Illinois say that violence has become so rampant in Chicago that the National Guard needs to be sent in.  In just one night last week seven people were killed and 18 were wounded- mostly by gunfire.  In fact, there have already been 113 murders in Chicago this year.

#3) The city of Phoenix, Arizona has become the car theft capital of the world as millions of illegal aliens who can't get work have found that stealing cars can be very profitable indeed.

#4) There are approximately 12 million crimes committed in the United States every single year.  That is by far the worst in the world.  No other nation has more than about 6 million reported crimes per year.

#5) In New York City, the number of homicides in the first quarter of the year had shot upby approximately 22 percent compared with 2009.

#6) U.S. prisons are already bursting at the seams.  As you read this, there are over 2.2 million people in prison in the United States.  In fact, America leads the world in the number of prisoners and in the percentage of the population in prison. The United States has 5% of the world's population, but 25% of the world's incarcerated population.

#7) U.S. law enforcement authorities claim that there are now over 1 million members of criminal gangs inside the country. These 1 million gang members are responsible for up to 80% of the crimes committed in the United States each year.

#8) There are over 100,000 rapes in the United States every single year.  That is the highest number for any of the countries in the United Nations.

#9) According to USA Today, 58% of state and local law enforcement agencies in the United States reported that violent criminal gangs were active in their areas in 2008.  That was up from 45% in 2004.

#10) Every year, one out of every five people is a victim of a crime in the United States.  No other nation on earth has a rate that is higher.