The United States in 2020 recorded the highest increase in homicides since 1960, that is, since the data began to be collected on a national basis: + 29%.
This was reported in the annual FBI crime dossier viewed by the New York Times. The previous record was 12.7% in 1968, the pivotal year of the civil rights struggle. For the moment, the 2021 data indicates a slower increase than in 2020.
Data from the Federal Bureau of Investigation shows nearly 5,000 more homicides last year than in 2019, for a total of about 21,500. Staggering numbers but still below the particularly violent era of the early 1990s.
About 77 percent of reported homicides in 2020 were committed with a firearm, the highest rate ever reported, up from 67 percent a decade ago. Crimes have increased by more than 35% in cities with populations exceeding 250,000 people, by 40% in cities from 100,000 to 250,000 and by about 25% in those with less than 25,000.
Among the reasons that gave a boost to the phenomenon, according to the FBI, the psychological consequences of the pandemic and a greater use of firearms.
(Unioneonline / D)