Police officials warn that murder rates are still high and that robberies and assaults have increased alarmingly in major U.S. cities this year. Violent crime is expected to influence voter participation in the approaching midterm elections.
Senior police officers from America’s largest forces, the Major Cities Chiefs Association (MCCA), have warned of “shocking levels” of violent crimes in metropolitan areas compared to the same time last year in their mid-year report.
The troubling statistics come at a time when voters’ top concerns in the midterm elections in November are still law and order, and soft-on-crime policies and proposals to cut police funding might cost Democrats in certain places with high crime rates.
A statement from the organisation read: “Compared to 2019 midyear numbers, MCCA member cities have suffered a 50% spike in killings and an approximately 36% increase in severe assaults.”
These startling figures show how large metropolitan regions have been disproportionately affected by the ongoing rise in violent crime.
According to the poll, homicides and rapes in major U.S. cities were somewhat down from this time last year, while they are still high due to a nearly 30% increase in murders between 2019 and 2020.
But not all cities saw a decline in homicides. Homicides increased in Atlanta by around 20% and New Orleans by about 40%; they also increased in Washington, D.C., Baltimore, Dallas, Phoenix, and Denver.
Scenes like this one in San Francisco, when a 70-year-old lady was assaulted and kicked in the head by several assailants in broad daylight, are becoming more frequent in places with high crime rates.
In comparison to the same time in 2021, violent crime rates increased overall by 4.4 percent in the first half of the year, mostly owing to substantial increases in the rates of robberies (13 percent) and aggravated assaults (14 percent) (2.6 percent).
Robberies and violent assaults increased by 39% and 21%, respectively, in New York City, while they increased by 22% and 21%, respectively, in Los Angeles. Baltimore and San Francisco also witnessed significant increases.
Uncertainty surrounds the cause of the rise, but Covid-19 sparked a great social upheaval and undermined governmental and social safety nets. The epidemic also saw a rise in gun purchases.
The police are overworked. Police officers are leaving or retiring quicker than they can be replaced as a result of the pandemic’s toll on them as well as requests to decrease spending in the wake of George Floyd’s murder. Despite this, crime rates are increasing.
Police chiefs are reevaluating the services they can provide and the role that police should play in their communities as they struggle to fill positions in a competitive labour market. To keep up with 911 calls, several experienced police officers have been assigned to patrol tasks.
In an effort to “reduce the number of catastrophes that have become far too prevalent,” the MCCA, which unites 70 police forces, said in August that it was researching trends regarding weapons, the legal system, and other topics.
The group’s findings support what citizens and tourists in large cities already know. Recently, a visitor was sexually assaulted at a New York City subway station, and a thief broke into the house of a contender for mayor of Los Angeles.
In contrast, female business owners in Chicago claim they are leaving the city’s crime-ridden downtown and moving to the suburbs as a result of an uptick in home invasions and armed robberies of nearby shops.
District attorneys who are soft on crime have come under scrutiny. Jim Strickland, the mayor of Memphis, criticised the decision to let Ezekiel Kelly out of jail early after the 22-year-old went on a killing spree in the city last week.
Prior to the midterm elections, which will decide who will control the Democratic-held House of Representatives and Senate for the remainder of President Joe Biden’s first term, Americans are particularly concerned about violent crime, gun control, inflation, and the economy.
According to a Pew Research Center study conducted last month, approximately three-quarters of registered voters said the economy was extremely important to them, while roughly six out of ten respondents mentioned gun control, violent crime, health care, voting laws, and education.