2020 proves the worst happens when we overreact. The government clenched its fist around us. Our children suffered a setback in education, leading to developmental issues and isolation.
Therefore, the FBI 2020 statistics should not surprise anyone. Nothing good happens when you force a naturally social animal into isolation, strip them of their well-being, and try to control their life.
Human beings are animals. We are not unique on the nature timeline or chain. Nature takes over.
The FBI discovered the murder and manslaughter went up by almost 30% in 2020. Violent crime increased by 5.6% in 2020.
“The UCR [Uniform Crime Reporting] Program collects information on crimes reported by law enforcement agencies regarding the violent crimes of murder and nonnegligent manslaughter, rape, robbery, and aggravated assault, as well as the property crimes of burglary, larceny-theft, motor vehicle theft, and arson,” explained the FBI.
Property crime went down by 8.1%. The FBI counts arson as a property crime but does not count it as a property crime statistic “because of variations in the level of participation by the reporting agencies. Consequently, arson data is not included in the property crime estimate.”
The pandemic forced many to work from home. Burglars did not have many options with so many people staying home!
Of the 18,619 federal, state, county, city, university and college, and tribal agencies eligible to participate in the UCR Program, 15,897 agencies submitted data in 2020. A high-level summary of the statistics submitted, as well as estimates for those agencies that did not report, follows:
- In 2020, there were an estimated 1,277,696 violent crimes. When compared with the estimates from 2019, the estimated number of robbery offenses fell 9.3 percent and the estimated volume of rape (revised definition) offenses decreased 12.0 percent. The estimated number of aggravated assault offenses rose 12.1 percent, and the volume of murder and nonnegligent manslaughter offenses increased 29.4 percent.
- Nationwide, there were an estimated 6,452,038 property crimes. The estimated numbers for two of the three property crimes showed declines when compared with the previous year’s estimates. Burglaries dropped 7.4 percent, larceny-thefts decreased 10.6 percent, while motor vehicle thefts rose 11.8 percent.
- Collectively, victims of property crimes (excluding arson) suffered losses estimated at $17.5 billion in 2020.
- The FBI estimated law enforcement agencies nationwide made 7.6 million arrests, (excluding those for traffic violations) in 2020.
- The arrest rate for violent crime was 147.9 per 100,000 inhabitants, and the arrest rate for property crime was 267.3 per 100,000 inhabitants.
- By violent crime offense, the arrest rate for murder and nonnegligent manslaughter was 3.8 per 100,000 inhabitants; rape (aggregate total using the revised and legacy definition), 6.3; robbery, 21.0; and aggravated assault, 116.8 per 100,000 inhabitants.
- Of the property crime offenses, the arrest rate for burglary was 45.7 per 100,000 inhabitants; larceny-theft, 193.1; and motor vehicle theft, 25.5. The arrest rate for arson was 3.0 per 100,000 inhabitants.
- In 2020, 13,377 law enforcement agencies reported their staffing levels to the FBI. These agencies reported that, as of October 31, 2020, they collectively employed 696,644 sworn officers and 309,135 civilians—a rate of 3.4 employees per 1,000 inhabitants.
The FBI does not mention, suggest, or allude to any reason why the numbers went up in 2020.
I don’t like to assume. But considering we have seen similar statistics in other areas, I think it’s safe to assume the lockdowns and restrictions had something to do with the stats:
Richard Rosenfeld, a criminologist at the University of Missouri, St. Louis, who studies trends in homicides, said last year’s murder increase was startling given the years of declines that preceded it.“The rise in homicides coincided with the pandemic last summer, and also the outbreak of widespread protests against police violence after George Floyd was murdered… neither of which was anticipated,” Mr. Rosenfeld said.
Murder and manslaughter numbers steadily declined until 2020. What happened in 2020? Lockdowns and restrictions. In the name of COVID, places put needed support groups on hold. People couldn’t participate in intervention programs.
We also saw riots after George Floyd’s death. Social justice warriors demanded defunding police departments. The police lost public support, which led to officers leaving their posts.
How about we not overreact? It’s not like we faced a zombie apocalypse or the diseases in Contagion and Outbreak. You know, a disease that is an automatic death sentence for everyone no matter your age or health condition.
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