Why Homicide Rates Spiked 30% During the Pandemic

“People who witnessed violence at home or in their communities when they were growing up, and maybe have a genetic tendency to aggression, can develop violent behaviors as a way to cope with stressful situations,” says Espinola, who is also an assistant professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine. “And then, when faced with a pandemic, you can see how many of them, in times of desperation, have turned to being aggressive towards others.”

FBI background checks suggest that gun sales are way up since the pandemic began in early 2020.

The bureau conducted the most ever firearm background checks — 1,218,002 — during a single week in March 2021, the highest number since the federal government began tracking gun sales in 1998. In fact, the nine highest weeks ever for gun background checks all occurred in 2020 and 2021, during the pandemic.

Solutions to gun violence aren’t easy to come by in a nation polarized by the debate over whether to limit firearm sales. However, 19 states have passed Extreme Risk Protection Orders (ERPO), which allow police or family members to petition a court to temporarily remove firearms from a person in crisis who poses a risk of harm to themselves or others. As long as the ERPO is in place, the person is also banned from buying firearms.

“I don’t think anyone would argue that one of the most polarizing topics in this country is gun violence prevention policies,” says Shannon Frattaroli, director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Injury Research and Policy. “We have seen almost half of states adopt this new kind of policy that allows for temporary prohibitions on purchasing and possession of guns, which is quite extraordinary, and demonstrates, in my mind, that there is a place where we can come together and agree on reasonable policies for gun violence prevention.”

While there have been calls from some quarters to abolish or defund the police, the vast majority of Americans oppose getting rid of police departments. However, about half do support reducing police department budgets and shifting those funds to social programs.

“Policing is necessary in a country awash with guns, where violence is common,” says Nix. “Policing is necessary and needs to be invested in. We need well-trained officers to have the tools and resources they need. We don’t want fatigued, stretched-thin officers who are sleep-deprived out exercising the authority that they have. We need to invest in police officers, but we also need to invest in community organizations that respond to violence as well.”

Dora Mekouar is a journalist at the Voice of America. This article is published courtesy of the Voice of America (VOA).