FBI Shows Nearly 30% Rise Compared With Previous Year
As reported by NPR, data released by the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) earlier this month shows an “unprecedented” rise in murders across the country. According to the data, there were 21,750 murders in the United States last year. The number is 4,901 more than the previous year’s total homicides. A staggering 77% of the murders were committed with a firearm.
Violent crime, in general, was up last year. Property crimes, on the other hand, continued to decline decreasing 8% from the previous year. It is unclear why the rise in violent crimes and, in particular, murders was so extreme. A number of factors could have contributed to the spike.
Read the full story, heard on NPR’s All Things Considered.
Violent Crimes by State
According to Statista, the District of Columbia reported the highest violent crime rate in 2020. DC was followed by Alaska, New Mexico, Tennessee, Arkansas, and Louisiana which all reported violent crime rates of 600 offenses or higher per 100,000 of the population.
Main reported the lowest violent crime rate with 108.6 offenses per 100,000 of the population. New Hampshire, Vermont, Connecticut, and New Jersey rounding out the lowest five.
2021 Projections
Reports are hopeful for 2021 which has seen a slowing to the astronomical number of homicides committed last year. It is likely that multiple conditions caused the shocking rise in murders in 2020, but it is unclear which was the driving force. Murders in the United States were at an all-time high in the 1990s, dropping substantially in the late 90s and into the early 2000s.