As 2021 draws to a close, dreary statistics show that at least 12 major U.S. cities have reached record-breaking homicide rates.
With 739 murders at the end of November, Chicago takes the lead, a 3% increase from 2020. While the number is grim, it still falls under the deadliest year, 1970, which saw a shocking 974 homicides. Philadelphia is also among the twelve, with 521 homicides as of December 6th, a 13% increase from 2020.
Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney says it’s “terrible to get up every morning and have to go look at the numbers.”
“It’s just crazy, and this needs to stop,” Kenney stated, referring to the news that the city of over 1.5 million people had surpassed its annual homicide record of 500.
Experts have pointed to a number of reasons for the increase, including the continued strains of the COVID-19 pandemic and a national shortage of police officers. Governors are working overtime to fill police vacancies in their states, offering bonuses and increased salaries.
Robert Boyce, retired chief of detectives for the New York Police Department, blamed the problem on the lack of arrests, citing that many people who are arrested for non-violent crimes such as gun possession are usually released after a short time.
Other cities that topped their previous homicide rates include Portland, Oregon, Toledo, Ohio, St. Paul, Minnesota, Tucson, Arizona, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Austin, Texas, Rochester, New York, and Albuquerque, New Mexico.
