Murders Soar By 30% In 2020.
The rate at which Americans kill each other soared by the biggest percentage increase in history. (NY Times)
“Killings in the United States jumped nearly 30 percent last year, according to FBI data released Monday that indicate a growing number of gun-related slayings amid the pandemic.
The FBI said murder and manslaughter rose 29.4 percent — the largest one-year increase since the federal government began compiling national figures in the 1960s. That historic increase has been known for some time and has sparked concern from police officials and prosecutors. But the FBI’s release of data compiled from thousands of law enforcement agencies formally confirms the trend.”
The murder rate in America has declined precipitously since the peaks in the late 80s and early 90s when the crack cocaine epidemic was ripping through American cities. Tragically, there seems to be a correlation between the Covid-19 pandemic and the recent surge in homicides. Cities across America, and especially urban areas in the industrial Midwest, have been hardest with the most sever spikes in violence. As cities try to dig out of the complete mess that Covid has caused to society, special attention needs to be paid to bringing communities together and finding ways to end the violence.
