For some reason right after we emptied all the jails and defunded the police our nation saw violence and murder rates skyrocket.
According to new data put out by the CDC on Wednesday, 2020 saw the largest spike in homicide rates in over one hundred years. Between 2019 and 2020, homicide rates jumped by about 30%, which experts say is one of the largest recorded increases in American history.
In 2020, the homicide rate was about 7.8 homicides per 100,000 people, an increase from roughly 6.0 homicides per 100,000 in 2019.
“The only larger increase since we’ve been recording these data occurred between 1904 and 1905, and that increase was most likely — at least partly — the result of better reporting,” Robert Anderson, head of mortality statistics at the National Center for Health Statistics, told CNN.
That makes the current spike the largest in over a hundred years. Anderson’s branch plans on conducting further research to find out the mode of homicide.
He added, “We had states being added to what we refer to as the death registration areas, so we were counting deaths in more areas over time. We didn’t have all states reporting until 1933.”
The most recent increase in homicide rate that was relatively close was in the aftermath of the September 11 terror attacks, when the homicide rate jumped close to 20%.
“A 30% increase is outstanding, really,” Anderson, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “Places that haven’t traditionally had high homicides rates have had increases.”
He noted that while the vast majority of states saw their homicide rates increase, rates in Maine, New Mexico, and Alaska did decline.
This increase goes hand in hand with FBI data that was released last week, which also found a roughly 30% increase in homicides. Violent crime on the whole was up as well, according to the report.
“For the first time in four years, the estimated number of violent crimes in the nation increased when compared with the previous year’s statistics, according to FBI figures released today,” the FBI said in a statement.
“In 2020, there were an estimated 1,277,696 violent crimes,” the FBI said. “The estimated number of aggravated assault offenses rose 12.1 percent, and the volume of murder and nonnegligent manslaughter offenses increased 29.4 percent.”
Photo: Getty Images North America
MIAMI, FLORIDA - MAY 30: Police in riot gear use tear gas and other means of crowd control as they blockade the station's parking garage as a rally in response to the police killing George Floyd on May 30, 2020 in Miami, Florida. Miami joins protest after the police killing of George Floyd. Four Minneapolis police officers have been fired after a video taken by a bystander was posted on social media showing Floyd's neck being pinned to the ground by an officer as he repeatedly said, "I can’t breathe". Floyd was later pronounced dead while in police custody after being transported to Hennepin County Medical Center. (Photo by Cliff Hawkins/Getty Images)