Over the past two years, murder rates in the United States have continued to rise. To investigate nationwide murder trends, The Economist ...
Over the past two years, murder rates in the United States have continued to rise. To investigate nationwide murder trends, The Economist collected murder-related data in 50 of America�s most
violent cities over eight months in 2016 and create insightful visualizations. The database includes 15% of the country�s population and 36% of murder victims.
violent cities over eight months in 2016 and create insightful visualizations. The database includes 15% of the country�s population and 36% of murder victims.
 |
| Figure 1 |
At the national level, which was decreasing for 20 years, the overall murder rate is on the rise again. There are 13 cities with rates that remain low and stable (including Boston, Seattle, and New York), 15 with low but rising rates (including Houston, Dallas and Portland), nine cities with high and stable rates (including Atlanta, Detroit and Oakland), and another 13 cities with high and rising rates (including Chicago, Washington and Cleveland).
 |
| Figure 2 |
It is hard to attribute one single reason to increasing violence because demography changes, policy making, and deprivation can be factors in the spike in violence. Additionally, different cities have different socioeconomic makeups.
However, based on The Economist�s research, there are some trends at the national level happening now. The homicide with weapon rates in big cities have increased from 65% to 80% of all murders, but the numbers still vary in different cities. For example, from 2010 to 2015, there was a total of 85.5% of gun murders in Chicago and 82.6% in Philadelphia, while there were 60.1% of total gun murders in New York. Although many cities have taken some action to reduce the homicide rates, the gun murder situation is still serious in many cities.
 |
| Figure 3 |
--
COMMENTS