Of course, this news does not come as a surprise to anyone who has been paying attention to the news as of late. Now, we are finally receiving evidence that confirms these suspicions. There has been a major spike in violent crime taking place all across America. The Wall Street Journal has analyzed the current state of affairs and leftists ought to be ashamed of themselves.
Dozens of the nation’s largest cities have experienced a rise in violent crime and this rise can’t be explained away as easy as some people would like. The police have been forced to retreat from their typical positions. While the liberals wanted everything to think that the police were to blame for all of the crime, the statistics are not bearing that theory out.
However, there are reports of other crimes decreasing, so the liberals will be clinging to these numbers. The murder rate is also fairly low when it is compared to the murder rates of past decades. Serious crimes may be dwindling but murder is still a major issue. Police and local residents are now concerned that the violence could lead to long term problems that cannot be reversed.
The nation has been experiencing an urban renaissance that has been spurred by a continuous decline in violent crimes. If homicides start to go back up again, all of the hard work is going to be threatened. According to the Wall Street Journal studies, homicides have gone up by 24 percent this year.
Cities that have always struggled with crime (such as Memphis, Chicago and Detroit) are experiencing a particularly drastic increase. Even cities that are not typically associated with violent crime (such as Phoenix and Omaha) are going through difficult times right now. Meanwhile, many of the major cities in Texas are actually experiencing a decrease in homicides at the moment.
It is also important to remember that certain percentage increases can be very misleading. If the cities are accustomed to a low homicide rate, the percentage increase may not be anything to worry about. The best way to measure would be to use the number of homicides per 1000 people. From there, cities can more easily judge where they are.
The Wall Street Journal is also offering up a variety of explanations for the violence that is taking place. They are not looking to blame things on the protests exclusively. WSJ also believes that the COVID-19 shutdowns are leading to the homicide increase. There is probably some level of truth to that but there is no way to know definitively.
Crime rates started to plunge once everyone was forced into their homes. Police received less service calls than ever before and crime incidents went down significantly. It’s easy to see why this would be the case. While bars and clubs are not the sole cause of all crime, the shutdown of these locations is sure to put a damper on the number of calls that local officers are receiving.
Robberies and aggravated assaults are dwindling. This shouldn’t be shocking, as these are the types of crimes that are typically associated with the night life. On the other hand, homicides can take place at any time and tensions are likely to rise when everyone is stuck in the house all day. The pandemic has had a profound effect on our collective mental health and this is something that the professionals will be unpacking for years to come.
There are those who believe that the police are simply not being called as often, which is leading to the decrease in certain crimes. Homicides are not going to be affected by something like this, as the police officers will still need to arrive on the scene and collect the body. That’s why so many observers believe that this is the best way to track the level of violence that takes place in American cities at the moment.
