The number of murders in the United States jumped more sharply in 2020 than in previous years. According to data from the American Federal Police (FBI) on Monday, the judicial authorities in each city counted an average of about 30 percent more homicides than in 2019. In total, almost 21,600 Americans were murdered between January and December 2020, about 4,900 more than the previous year. This means that the number of so-called homicides has increased more than in any other year since records began almost 60 years ago. The number of crimes such as assault, rape and robbery also increased sharply in the past year.
Criminologist James Alan Fox, who conducts research on violent crime at Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts, pointed to the special circumstances of 2020 that are expected to make the rapid increase an outlier. “Last year was unique in many ways. Because of the pandemic, people have not lived their normal lives: children have not been to school, adults have not been to work, "Fox told USA Today. In addition, American society was divided on political and social issues and on how to contain the corona virus. At the same time, more weapons were sold. “In the heat of the moment, these weapons were used at some point,” summarized the criminologist.According to the FBI survey, more than three in four murders in 2020 involved handguns or rifles.
Meanwhile, experts compared the rapid increase with the crime waves of the 1990s in the USA.
The number of violent crimes is much lower than it was then.
While metropolises such as Los Angeles and New York were particularly hit in the 1990s, smaller cities also recorded more murders in the past year.