CNBC published this video item, entitled “Why Murder Rates Are Rising In The U.S.” – below is their description.
There was about a 30% increase nationally in murder between 2019 and 2020, which is the largest year-over-year increase ever recorded. While there was a slight increase of about 6% between 2020 and 2021, preliminary 2022 data from big cities suggests that the murder rate may be dropping. The pandemic was a major catalyst in the rise in murder, but it’s not the only factor. Watch the video above to learn why murder rates have been rising in the U.S. and what we can do to reverse the trend.
“There was a massive surge in legal purchases of guns during the pandemic,” Abt said. “A larger share of those legally purchased guns were diverted into the hands of criminals more quickly than normal.”
There were an estimated 21 million guns sold in the U.S. in 2020, breaking the previous record in 2016 of just over 16 million guns sold. In 2021, that number dropped slightly to a little less than 19 million.
The data shows that the rising trend in murder rates occurred all across the country.
“We saw increases in violent crime across all different kinds of geographic areas in the United States,” said Anna Harvey, professor of politics at New York University. “People have also looked at partisan control of cities, and there’s no evidence at all that violent crime increased more in cities that were Democrat relative to cities that were led by Republican mayors.”
However, there is some hope that the numbers may be turning around. Preliminary big city data from the first half of 2022 suggests that the murder rate may be declining year to date.
CNBC YouTube Channel
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