(AbsoluteNews.com) – People often look back at 2020 and reflect on the events of that terrible year. It was the first full year of the COVID-19 pandemic and it was truly horrible. Millions of people were out of work, some lost their businesses, and thousands died from the virus. But, that wasn’t the only issue in 2020; it was the year that kept on giving.
The summer brought riots across the country and calls to defund the police. Then there was the massive rise in crime, most notably, homicides.
Spike in Murderers
On September 27, the FBI released its 2020 Uniform Crime Report. It showed a shocking statistic: murders increased almost 30% from 2019. There were 21,570 homicides during the first year of the pandemic. The spike in murders is the largest annual increase since the federal law enforcement agency began keeping track in the 1960s.
Although homicides jumped, there were still fewer than there were in the 1990s when crime was at an all-time high.
Other Key Facts
The FBI collected the data by surveying 15,875 of 18,623 law enforcement agencies across the country. Some of the other key facts from the crime report include the following:
- The homicide rate per 100,000 people was 6.5
- There were roughly 1,277,696 violent crimes committed last year
- Law enforcement made 7.6 million arrests
- Property crimes decreased
- The arrest rate for violent crimes was 147.9 per 100,000 residents
Defund the Police
Violent crimes increased in some of America’s major cities, including Chicago. The FBI reports for the Democratically-run city were startling. The data shows murders increased 56% from 496 to 772 in Windy City.
Chicago Police Superintendent David Brown discussed the increase, saying it’s the result of gang members killing innocent people, including children, while they fight over turf. He also pointed to the anger over George Floyd’s death at the hands of Minneapolis police.
Many cities, including Memphis, Syracuse, Des Moines and others, reported the highest ever number of homicides in their jurisdictions.
While homicides and other crimes were rising, many Democratic lawmakers called on cities to defund the police. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) forcefully demanded officials reduce law enforcement budgets, even though the crime rate was skyrocketing in NYC.
Other cities, like Minneapolis, did defund the police. Crime quickly rose, and the city changed course.
In some cities, like Chicago, their 2021 numbers are already surpassing the data from last year. If lawmakers don’t act quickly, crime will continue to rise, putting more Americans at risk.
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