Prosecution of those protecting themselves is relatively small and you know it. It only sounds bigger because everybody hears about it almost instantly.
Anyway, there's a lot more to consider when talking about such increases. Population density has increased greatly, the lower income segment of the population has increased as have many other things in this day and age. There's never been a bigger divide between the rich and the poor and it's increasing. You can't really compare statistics tit for tat with what was going on forty years ago. It's a different time, a different age and much of it is a different mindset. We hear about all sorts of things these days that we'd never have heard thirty years ago.
As an example, look at what's coming out of Iran. Do you think we'd have heard any of it if global communications were not as widespread as they are today? Without the world watching, I'd wager that Iran's government would have killed quite a few more protestors than it already has. It *is* a different time and things change because of it.