Beware: Violent Crimes Up 44% in THESE U.S. Cities
A new study found that murders in 22 U.S. cities increased 44% from 2019 to 2021.
“The number of 2021 homicides in the cities studied was 5% greater than in 2020 – representing 218 additional murders in those cities – and 44% greater than in 2019, representing 1,298 additional lives lost,” wrote the Council on Criminal Justice (CCJ), a nonpartisan criminal justice policy organization.
The CCJ’s study indicates a continued upward trend in violent crime, starting at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic.
The CCJ selected the 22 cities because their police departments provided “weekly updates for the period between January 2018 and December 2021.” The cities studied are:
- Chandler, Arizona
- Phoenix, Arizona
- Los Angeles, California
- Denver, Colorado
- St. Petersburg, Florida
- Atlanta, Georgia
- Chicago, Illinois
- Louisville, Kentucky
- Baltimore, Maryland
- Detroit, Michigan
- Omaha, Nebraska
- Buffalo, New York
- Raleigh, North Carolina
- Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- Memphis, Tennessee
- Nashville, Tennessee
- Austin, Texas
- Norfolk, Virginia
- Seattle, Washington
- Milwaukee, Wisconsin
- Washington, D.C.
“While it is encouraging to see a slowdown in the recent homicide increase, the bloodshed continues, and at least 10 U.S. cities lost historic numbers of residents to murder last year,” CCJ senior fellow Thomas Abt said in a statement.
“This is not acceptable. We know there are multiple strategies with a track record of success in reducing violence. We need to break through our divisive politics and put these evidence-backed solutions in place now.”
Of the cities the CCJ studied, 16 reported an increase in homicides last year. St. Petersburg experienced a 108% spike.
“The elevated rates of homicide and serious assaults require an urgent response from elected leaders,” said Richard Rosenfeld, University of Missouri-St. Louis professor emeritus Richard Rosenfeld, the study’s co-author.
“A year ago, we concluded our 2020 crime report by noting that with so many lives at stake, the time to act is now. That message is as vital today as it was then.”
Source:
Murders rose 5% in 2021 compared to 2020; 44% compared to 2019: study