Even Smaller Cities Seeing Huge Increases in Crime
Murder Surge:
The number of murders in the U.S. surged by nearly 30% in 2020, marking the largest single-year increase ever recorded, according to FBI statistics.
A total of 21,570 homicides occurred in 2020, a staggering 4,901 more than in 2019, highlighting the significant rise in violence.
Overall Crime Rates:
The overall violent crime rate, including murder, assault, robbery, and rape, increased by around 5%.
Property crimes continued their decline, dropping 8% from 2019.
Scale of Change:
The spike in murders stands out due to the sheer scale of the increase, as reported by Jeff Asher, a crime rate data consultant.
The murder rate, though below historic peaks in the 1990s, indicates a more widespread problem.
Geographical Spread:
In the 1990s, New York and Los Angeles accounted for 13.5% of all murders nationally, but in 2020, it was under 4%, illustrating a more diffuse distribution of the issue.
City-Specific Trends:
In the latest FBI data, murder increased more percentage-wise in cities with populations between 10,000 and 25,000 than in cities of 250,000 to 1 million.
Carjackings in the nation’s capital spiked by 97.9% in 2023, with 958 reported incidents compared to 484 in 2022.
Motor vehicle theft increased by 82%, and in the greater Washington-Maryland-Virginia area, it rose by 68% in 2023.
In Oakland, robberies grew by 38%, burglaries increased by 23%, and motor vehicle theft jumped by 44% in 2023.
About one in every 30 Oakland residents had their cars stolen last year.
In New York City, the number of police officers hurt by suspects surged by 20% in 2022, reaching 4,724, compared to 3,933 in 2021.
In the first nine months of 2023, 4,077 officers were injured by suspects, indicating a pace for a record-breaking 5,436 injuries.
Criminal Boldness:
The increase in attacks on law enforcement indicates a concerning trend, suggesting a heightened level of boldness among criminals.
Sources: https://www.npr.org/2021/09/27/1040904770/fbi-data-murder-increase-2020, https://discernreport.com/chaos-reigns-in-the-streets-of-america-as-an-epic-crime-wave-terrorizes-the-nation/