Last year the murder rate in the US jumped almost 30%, according to the latest data from the FBI, which was briefly published online earlier this week ahead of a full report coming out next week. That meant a total of 21,500 murders, the steepest single-year rise since records began, and equated to an additional 5,000 lost lives on 2019.
The question we would all like to know is why? Disentangling the many variables at play would probably take a full PhD or two, but even with only anecdotal evidence it feels hard not to blame the pandemic. Millions suddenly unemployed, uncertain about the future and collectively going through one of the hardest years in recent memory is a cocktail for bad social outcomes.
One interesting aspect of this data, as pointed out by The Atlantic, is that overall crime rates actually fell last year. Day time burglaries are presumably a lot harder when everyone is at home and shoplifting impossible if stores are closed.
The data for 2021 is a little less clear, but some estimate the murder rate is still rising, around another 10% so far, based on data from 87 of the biggest US cities.
