Murder in the cities

94%

The increase in homicides in Los Angeles from 2019 to 2021. Los Angeles authorities reported 397 murders in the city last year, a death toll unparalleled since 2007. And yet, two years ago Los Angeles officials bragged over their lowest-ever crime rate. Cities such as Philadelphia, Portland, Ore., and Louisville, Ky., all set records for murders last year. The rapid increase in reported murders in large cities across the nation correlates with a stir-crazy nation struggling under pandemic conditions, racial unrest following the murder of George Floyd, and calls by some to defund law enforcement.

6.5

The number of murders per 100,000 in 2020 in the U.S., according to FBI data, the highest since 1997, but still well below figures from the early 1990s or 1980s.

2/3

The share of major cities that have seen an increase in murders in 2021 compared to the previous year, according to a CNN analysis.

461

The number of assaults reported in New York City subways in 2021, up 28 percent from 2020 according to the New York Police Department.

47%

The share of Americans polled in September by Pew Research who wanted increased funding for police, up from 31 percent in June 2021.