No body like crime, except maybe the criminal. As bad as crime is violent crime is even worse.
We have seen an increase in violent crime starting in 2020 and possibly continuing into this year. There are numbers out there that can sound scary about murders when you look at percent increases. While we don't think any murders are good, it should be noted that these increase are off a comparatively low base.
Since 1990 homicides in the US dropped from a rate over 9 per 100,000 to under 5. Last year it ticked up to around 6 with more in certain big cities.
Is it a new trend or an aberration? I don't think anyone knows. I also don't think anyone knows why.
What hasn't changed is that most individual homicides are perpetrated by people who know each other. any particular person's chance of being killed by a stranger is very low.
Is there a crime surge going on? Surge would be a strong word since most crime is still trending down. There has been an increase in violent crime and it might just be related to the situation last year when so much was shut down and people spent more time at home.
Gun sales are up and how that impacts the homicide rate is always debatable.
Some crimes are preventable by increased police presence, but homicides are generally unpredictable and unpreventable.
Almost all crime is opportunistic, since criminals generally do what's easiest. The theft of Amazon deliveries is certainly up although many people don't even know they were robbed, just that they never got the delivery.
You likelihood of being murdered by a stranger is almost zero and is likely to stay that way.
Your friends and relatives are another matter.
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