Crime Rates of 2016

MURDERS UP IN U.S. CITIES

Dec 19, 2016

The 30 largest U.S. cities saw a double-digit increase in their murder 

rate in 2016, according to a new year-end report, even as crime 

nationwide remains near all-time lows.

A new study released Tuesday by New York University’s Brennan Center 

for Justice projects that the 2016 murder rate for the largest U.S. cities is 

up 14% from 2015 while the violent crime rate rose by 3.3%. The overall 

crime rate, however, increased by just 0.3%, thanks in large part to 

historically low levels of property crime, according to the study's authors.

The trend lines in the report run counter to some of the most dire warnings aired during
 the presidential election. As a candidate, Donald Trump spoke out against what he
characterized as record levels of crime in urban areas. While the murder rate has
increased, overall crime across the U.S. is near all-time lows. The report’s authors
note that “concerns about a national crime wave are still premature, but these trends
suggest a need to understand how and why murder is increasing in some cities.”

Two cities are largely driving the spike in violent crime: Chicago and Charlotte.
Violent crime in Chicago is up 17.7% increase this year, and the city accounts for
almost 44% of the total increase in murders, according to the report. Charlotte has
experienced a number of drug-related murders as well as homicides related to
domestic violence and is projected to see a 13.4% increase in violent crime this year.

Of the 30 cities studied, just eight showed an increase in their crime rates from 2015.
But the study found that 13 cities, including Los Angeles, Houston, Philadelphia and
San Antonio, had increases in their violent crime rates while 21 were projected to see
jumps in their murder rates.

Article Source: http://time.com/4607059/murder-rate-increase-us-cities-2016/