Homicides in the United States in 2020 rose nearly 30% from the previous year, the largest year-over-year increase since the FBI began keeping records, according to figures released by the agency on Monday.
Murders and intentional deaths totaled approximately 29.4% to 21,570, an increase of 4,901 from 2019, according to FBI data. This is the highest estimated total since the early 1990s, when the number of homicides remained above 23,000 a year at a time when drug disputes were raging in many parts of the country.
Violent crimes in 2020 increased 5.6% compared to last year, while crimes against property continued with a decline of almost two decades, declining 7.8%. Thefts and rapes fell by 9.3% and 12% respectively.
James Alan Fox, a criminologist at Northeastern University in Boston, said he considers 2020 a “unique situation” and not part of a long-term trend. He attributed the drastic increase to a combination of factors, including the coronavirus pandemic, conflicts over political and racial issues, and the fact that people in general simply had a lot of free time.
“I don’t want to minimize what has happened. I just don’t want people to believe that the sky is falling and that this is (a trend) permanent, “Fox added. Even with the huge increase in the number of murders, he stressed, the figure is still well below what it went through. the country during the “crack” epidemic 30 years ago.
While the declines in other crimes are good news, homicides were a surprising trend that has continued this year. Several communities, rural and metropolitan, have experienced continuous increases in murders. The spike in violence has become a political issue a year after protests erupted over police practices following George Floyd’s death in Minneapolis.
Firearms control groups noted that firearms were the main driver of violence.
“This increase in homicides is simply the latest evidence that we are experiencing an epidemic of gun violence within the COVID pandemic,” said John Feinblatt, president of the activist group Everytown for Gun Safety, in a statement. “This death spiral will continue until we stop the flow of illegal weapons and invest in proven prevention programs.”