A Dozen Cities Set Homicide Records in 2021



At least 12 major U.S. cities have broken annual homicide records in 2021 -- and there's still three weeks to go in the year.

Of the dozen cities that have already surpassed the grim milestones for killings, five topped records that were set or tied just last year.

"It's terrible to every morning get up and have to go look at the numbers and then look at the news and see the stories. It's just crazy. It's just crazy and this needs to stop," Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney said after his city surpassed its annual homicide record of 500, which stood since 1990.

Philadelphia, a city of roughly 1.5 million people, has had more homicides this year (521 as of Dec. 6) than the nation's two largest cities, New York (443 as of Dec. 5) and Los Angeles (352 as of Nov. 27). That's an increase of 13% from 2020, a year that nearly broke the 1990 record.

Chicago, the nation's third-largest city, leads the nation with 739 homicides as of the end of November, up 3% from 2020, according to Chicago Police Department crime data. Chicago's deadliest year remains 1970 when there were 974 homicides.

Philadelphia's homicide record was broken in the same week that Columbus, Indianapolis and Louisville eclipsed records for slayings.

Experts say there are a number of reasons possibly connected to the jump in homicides, including strained law enforcement staffing, a pronounced decline in arrests and continuing hardships from the pandemic, but that there is no clear answer across the board.

5 cities surpass records set in 2020

Other major cities that have surpassed yearly homicide records are St. Paul, Minnesota; Portland, Oregon; Tucson, Arizona; Toledo, Ohio; Baton Rouge, Louisiana; Austin, Texas; Rochester, New York; and Albuquerque, New Mexico, which broke its record back in August.

Comments

Post a Comment

Most Read Posts Over The Last 30 Days

The Bail Post Episode No. 55- New York's Deal With The Devil Over Recidivism With Guest Jim Quinn

Image
Jim Quinn is a former assistant district attorney in Queens, New York. His family has lived in New York for four generations. Jim was on the front lines as New York slipped bail reform into the budget bill in 2019 and when it went into effect in January 2020. Jim has written numerous articles about the New York bail reform and its impact on crime. On this episode of The Bail Post we evaluate the reforms and their impact on recidivism. The biggest take away from this episode is that the politicians stated that they were willing to have more crime to address their political agenda. Four years later, we can say that they got exactly that. Crime is up 40% since before the reforms were enacted and defendants with a prior arrest are committing new crimes at record numbers. Recidivism rates demonstrate that a known group of people are committing a large percentage of crimes and the citizens are bearing the brunt of the harm because politicians refuse to fix the problems that they them
Read more

Good People, Good Food, Good Conversation and Good Competition- PBT's Upcoming 2024 Spring Fling

Image
Wednesday: April 10 - 12 is the PBT 8th Annual Spring Fling.  Festivities will begin on Wednesday with the Annual PBT Golf tournament.  Additionally, as teams are playing golf, another PBT team will be preparing a feast for Wednesday evening.  Late Wednesday afternoon PBT will celebrate the victors of the golf tournament with its annual cook out dinner.  This is a great time to mingle with other bondsmen, our lobbyists and our surety partners as we have fun celebrating all things Texas. Additionally, PBT invites local law enforcement members to join in the fun. This year, Wednesday evening will see a new element to the celebration.  PBT is sponsoring its first ever steak cook off  competition.  PBT currently has thirteen entries who are willing to put their reputations on the line to find out who can cook the best steak as selected by our blue ribbon panel of judges.  The cooks will be performing under the harsh lights (and harsh jokes) of all the spectators supporting and heckling the
Read more

The Bail Post Episode No. 54: The Causes of Crime and How to Deter It With Guest Dr. Jennifer Wooldridge

Image
On this episode of The Bail Post we talk about the current theories regarding the causes of crime and how to deter it.  Our guest is Dr. Jennifer Wooldridge.  She is an associate professor of Criminal Justice and the Criminal Justice Undergraduate Coordinator at UT Tyler.   Audio Podcast- Also available on: Apple Podcasts-            CLICK HERE Spotify-                        CLICK HERE Google Podcasts-        CLICK HERE Podcast Index-            CLICK HERE Amazon Music-          CLICK HERE Stitcher-                      CLICK HERE iHeart-                        CLICK HERE TuneIn + Alexa          CLICK HERE Podcast Addict-          CLICK HERE Podchaser-                  CLICK HERE Pocket Casts-              CLICK HERE Deezer-                       CLICK HERE   Listen Notes-             CLICK HERE Audible-                     CLICK HERE PlayerFM-                 CLICK HERE Video version of Podcast- Subject Index to The Bail Post Podcast-   CLICK HERE   To find more information regarding
Read more

The Bail Post Episode No. 53: How Bad Bail Reforms Harm Domestic Violence Survivors with Guest Angeline Constantinou

Image
Domestic Violence Survivors are one of the unknown stories of Bail Reform Failures.  As catch and release policies or arrest and release policies are being used more in our urban areas, one of the areas of society that is being most hit is in the area of domestic violence.  In many places, survivors cannot rely upon the criminal justice system any longer to protect them; and instead, they have to plan their escape plan with the help of volunteers across the country.  Join us on this episode of the Bail Post with Guest Angeline Constantinou as we talk about this very important issue. Audio Podcast-     Also available on: Apple Podcasts-            CLICK HERE Spotify-                        CLICK HERE Google Podcasts-        CLICK HERE Podcast Index-            CLICK HERE Amazon Music-          CLICK HERE Stitcher-                      CLICK HERE iHeart-                        CLICK HERE TuneIn + Alexa          CLICK HERE Podcast Addict-          CLICK HERE Podchaser-                  CL
Read more

Studies Demonstrate Recidivism Rates Increase Using Simple Release

Image
DCJ Study A new study of bail reform outside New York City — suburbs and upstate — prepared by John Jay College of Criminal Justice’s Data Collaborative for Justice shows that 66% of the people released under bail reform who had a recent prior arrest were re-arrested within two years of their release. The DCJ study also showed that 67% of defendants who had a recent prior violent felony arrest in the past year who were released under bail reform were re-arrested within two years of their arraignment. Almost half — 49% — were rearrested for a felony.  The fact that a study shows that people who have committed crimes tend to continue to commit more crimes is not really surprising. My analysis of bail reform published by the Manhattan Institute in August of 2022 showed NYC re-arrest rates of close to 70% for people with prior records charged with larceny, burglary, robbery, and criminal contempt while their case was pending. But DCJ is no conservative think tank. On the contrary, they hav
Read more

Stories by Topic:

Show more