Posted 24 сентября 2021,, 06:45

Published 24 сентября 2021,, 06:45

Modified 24 декабря 2022,, 22:36

Updated 24 декабря 2022,, 22:36

Pandemic played a dirty trick: the number of murders in the United States increased by 30% last year

Pandemic played a dirty trick: the number of murders in the United States increased by 30% last year

24 сентября 2021, 06:45
Фото: Фото: The New York Times
Forensic experts point out that while the total number of crimes in America has declined, there has been an explosive increase in homicide.
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Pandemic

The number of murders in the United States has grown by almost 30% in 2020, and this year it will grow even more, although not so much, according to the leading American newspaper The New York Times. The record homicide spike occurred last summer.

According to data compiled by the FBI for its annual crime report, the United States of America experienced the largest increase in homicide in 2020 since national records began in 1960.

True, the homicide rate per 100,000 is still about a third lower than it was in the early 1990s.

And while the true reasons for this increase are unlikely to ever be fully elucidated, analysts have pointed to many possible factors that have contributed to this, including pandemic stress, increased public distrust of the police following the assassination of George Floyd, and an increase in the number of firearms in the population.

About 77% of reported homicides in 2020 were by firearms, the highest proportion ever recorded.

It is also interesting that the homicide rate increased by more than 35% in cities with a population of more than 250,000, by more than 40% in cities from 100,000 to 250,000, and by about 25% in cities of up to 25,000. This applies to almost all regions of the country. Louisiana has held the record for the homicide rate for 32 years in a row.

At the same time, the total number of serious crimes declined by about 4-5 percent in 2020, with homicide, although it carries the highest social cost, constitutes a tiny fraction of serious crime, FBI analysts say.

The rate of homicide growth seems to be slowing this year, the newspaper consoles.

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