Many cities have record numbers of crime

The United States is still stuck in a killing spiral in 2021

• The high crime rate sparked a wave of public anger and a demand to stop the killing.

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• The killing of George Floyd opened the door to more killing.

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A large number of large and medium American cities recorded records in homicides in 2021, a crime spiral that began last year at the height of the “Covid-19” pandemic, and authorities are still struggling to contain it.

The reasons, according to experts interviewed by Agence France-Presse, are due to the repercussions of the Corona virus and the shock cases it has caused, and the recovery of the economy from which not everyone has benefited, especially the spread of firearms.

Philadelphia broke the tragic record set in 1990 with no less than 535 murders of 1.5 million residents, thus overtaking New York and Los Angeles, the two largest cities in the United States.

“Our city suffers from a high rate of poverty, food insecurity, housing problems, psychological problems, and a lack of funding for the education system,” explains Dorothy Johnson Speight, director of Mothers in Charge.

After her son died at the age of 24 in a petty parking lot dispute in 2003, Johnson Speight set up the organization that fights violence in the northeastern city, the cradle of American democracy.

The group, which organizes anger management sessions and supports families of murder victims, has had to limit its activities for several months due to the "pandemic."

Johnson Speight considers that the lack of support contributes to "arousing feelings of anger," and says, "It can get worse when you have nowhere to go to control anger, or you do not know how to deal with it."

Murder Basics

David Thomas, a professor of criminology at the University of Florida, notes that Washington DC has at least 211 murders, and Albuquerque has 100, while Portland has at least 70, and Richmond has 80.

"This country has gone crazy," he says.

"People are angry about everything, and with this frustration, all attempts to manage anger fail," adds the former black policeman.

Thomas explains that young people, especially those from minorities, "create problems with each other, and the issue escalates through (Facebook) to end with shootings."

Johnson Speight denounces the influence of Drill, a hip-hop trend whose lyrics include mystery, violence and war imagery, and originated from Chicago.

She considers that young people sympathize with rappers who "talk about those who will kill them, and show the various weapons available in the markets, and these are the foundations of killing."

Former CIA member and criminal statistics analyst Jeff Asher, like other specialists, believes that the main reason for this wave of murders is the historical increase in arms sales since the pandemic.

About 23 million guns were sold in 2020, a record number, according to the specialized company "Small Arms Analytics and Focusing", which expects a figure of 20 million for this year.

Michael Fleger, a Catholic priest who has been fighting the phenomenon of violence in Chicago for more than 30 years, confirms that "everyone has a gun, and it has become the first line of defense or attack for many people who say (I should have a gun because everyone has)".

official inaction

The major city in the north of the country, where corruption and violence are rife, recorded more than 800 murders in 2021, a record number since 1994.

Most murders are due to settling scores, and the vast majority of victims include African Americans, and sometimes children, victims of stray bullets.

Father Flieger denounces “the authorities’ failure to intervene, listen, and devise strategies to combat violence,” as well as the poor record of the police, with less than 50% of investigations completed in 2020.

"Finishing investigations into crimes is part of the problem, and there is no real threat (to the perpetrators) if the perpetrators are not arrested," he told AFP.

Jeff Asher considers it is the mistrust of the police and the judicial system, which has worsened since the killing of George Floyd by a white policeman in May 2020, that leads people to seek justice for themselves.

Some on the American left want reforms through a cut in the funds allocated to the police (Defend the Police), to transfer part of its budget to social programs.

Flieger struggles to deploy teams to prevent street violence, provide psychological support to residents, and help with vocational training.

“You cannot ask someone to lay down their arms without giving them something in return, so that they can live,” the priest says.

• It is the mistrust of the police and the judicial system, which has worsened since the murder of George Floyd by a white policeman in May 2020, that is leading people to seek justice for themselves.

• Young people, especially those from minorities, "cause problems with each other, and the issue escalates through (Facebook), ending with shooting."

• The reasons, according to experts, are due to the repercussions of the Corona virus and the shock cases it has caused, and the recovery of the economy from which not everyone has benefited, especially the spread of firearms.

• Philadelphia broke the tragic record recorded in 1990 with no less than 535 murders of 1.5 million residents, thus surpassing the "City of Brotherly Love" New York and Los Angeles, the two largest cities in the United States.

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