Worries over violent crime grow as FBI data shows homicides on the rise

WASHINGTON (TND) — New numbers from the Federal Bureau of Investigation show murder rates in the U.S. remain well above pre-pandemic levels.

Law enforcement experts are zeroing in on the homicide number as 2020 saw a 30% jump in murder rates — the biggest increase since the start of national record keeping in 1960.

Now that 2021 numbers are showing a similar trend, leading experts say it signals a steady elevation in murder rather than a one-off year.

Some shocking homicides have made headlines this week. A New York man was shot and killed in a hotel lobby while visiting his son at Marist College over the weekend. According to Fox News, both suspects arrested at the scene had lengthy rap sheets.

On Wednesday, a Purdue University student was found dead in his dorm room. His roommate was arrested and charged with murder.

Two teenagers were arrested Tuesday in connection with the fatal stabbing of a man in Nebraska, according to authorities. In another case involving teens, two young suspects were taken into custody after a drive-by shooting killed a woman and injured another in Texas.

There are many more homicides occurring now than there were before. I think the data supports that,” said Jason Johnson, president of the Law Enforcement Legal Defense Fund.

Murders are up 4.3% nationwide, according to the new statistics released by the FBI Wednesday. Violent crime is down slightly overall but remains notably higher than 2019.

The FBI’s report does have some gaps. Thanks to a new reporting system, big cities including New York and L.A. didn’t submit data, leaving FBI analysts to fill in the blanks with estimates.

Johnson attributes the rise in murders to two phenomena: the lack of support for police and the rise in “soft-on-crime” progressive district attorneys.

“You’re seeing more instances in which it seems pretty obvious that the perpetrator should have been detained pending some other charges, should have been incarcerated because of some other previous conviction,” Johnson said. “But because of this shift towards a progressive orientation, a lot of these folks are out and perhaps shouldn’t be out and are engaged in criminal activity.”

These crime numbers from President Joe Biden's first year in office come as recent polling shows crime remains a top issue for voters heading into the midterm elections this November — an issue that traditionally helps Republicans.