CRIMEU.S. Cities Less Violent Than Two Years Ago, Data Shows
The truth about American cities: Despite popular belief, they are much less violent than they were just a couple of years ago. Consider New York: The city witnessed a staggering 50% increase in homicides in 2020 and 2021. But last year, they fell by 11% to 433, and so far this year, they’ve dropped another 7% to 113, according to city police data.
The truth about American cities: Despite popular belief, they are much less violent than they were just a couple of years ago.
Violence has dropped across dozens of cities after a surge of shootings, murders and burglaries triggered by the 2020-2021 COVID-19 pandemic.
Consider New York, the nation’s largest city and something of a gauge for crime trends in other big cities.
The city witnessed a staggering 50% increase in homicides in 2020 and 2021. But last year, they fell by 11% to 433, and so far this year, they’ve dropped another 7% to 113, according to city police data.
Although the city’s murder rate remains above its pre-pandemic level, it is far lower than the early 1990s when it recorded more than 2,200 murder victims, said David Kennedy, a criminologist at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York.
“The popular perception that New York City is distinctively dangerous is simply not correct,” Kennedy said in an interview. “It’s far safer than many, many, many other places in the United States.”
Yet most people don’t take a long view of crime trends, noted Eddie Garcia, chief of the Dallas Police Department and president of the Major Cities Chiefs Association.
“They don’t care where we were 25 to 30 years ago,” Garcia said. “They care where we are today. And certainly, violence has been rising for the last three to five years.”
Tapping into that fear, House Republicans traveled to New York on Monday for a hearing focused on “violent crime and lawlessness in the city.”
Accusing Manhattan’s top prosecutor, Alvin Bragg, of letting criminals off the hook, Jim Jordan, the Republican chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, cited 2022 data showing rising felony assaults, robberies, burglaries and auto thefts.
“Imagine that — you leave criminals on the street, you get more crime,” Jordan said.
Left unmentioned were homicides, which have fallen in New York over the past year, making it one of the safest big cities in the country.
“It is simply a fact that New York City is dramatically safer than it used to be,” Kennedy said.
New York’s fewer homicides reflect a national trend.
Consulting firm AH Datalytics reports a nearly 10% fall in homicides in more than 70 cities this year.
The list includes cities that have struggled with violent crime in recent years: Baltimore, Houston, Los Angeles and Philadelphia.