The Covid-19 pandemic has changed how we view the world, and the people in it. Though we continue to work and pay bills, there’s an uncertainty in the air. It feels like there’s more crime happening around us, whether it be mass shootings, or home invasions.
Despite this feeling, recent data shows crime hasn’t gone up. In fact, it’s stayed relatively the same even before the pandemic started.
According to data presented by Pew Research, violent crime statistics have remained unchanged in 2020 and 2021 (the most recent years with available data). There were 16.5 violent crimes for every 1,000 Americans aged 12 and older.
“For each of the four violent crime types tracked in the survey — simple assault, aggravated assault, robbery and rape/sexual assault — there was no statistically significant increase either in 2020 or 2021,” the article read.
However, there are studies that show the murder rate has significantly increased since the pandemic started. Both the FBI and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported about a 30 percent increase in the U.S. murder rate between 2019 and 2020.
The rate itself was still lower than the early 2000s and 1990s, but a 30 percent increase is enough to make heads turn.
Researchers are also looking at crime on a much larger scale. Crime has been dropping dramatically since the 1980s — with researchers debating on the leading cause, but we can assume its a mixture of better policing, education on drugs, and economic growth among other factors.