For people in the US, 2020 was one of the most dangerous years in decades. The first year of the pandemic saw a huge spike in violence. The number of homicides in the country rose about 30 percent from 2019.
Fast forward a couple of years – and things look very different. According to crime analyst Jeff Asher, “2023 featured one of the lowest rates of violent crime in the US in more than 50 years.”
In big cities and small, from the East coast to the West, violence has dropped dramatically.
Despite a significant and measurable drop in violent crime, Americans feel less safe. According to a Gallup poll released in November, more than three quarters of Americans believe there’s more crime in the country than there was last year.
We explore the reasons why the good news on crime isn’t getting through.
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