DON’T PANIC

FBI: U.S. Murders Rose 10% in One Year

Largest percent increase since 1971.

New data show that murders in the United States rose 10.8 percent in the last year, following a two-decade decline. The FBI said the rise was the biggest single-year increase since 1971. The number of murders for 2015—15,696—was about the same total as in 2009. The total is still half what it was in 1991. “You lost 50 lb. You gained back a couple. You’re not fat,” said Jeffrey Butts, the director of the Research & Evaluation Center at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. “That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t look at your behavior, because the trend is not good.” Select cities showed their own trends. New York City saw 352 murders last year, compared to 2,000 per year in the early 1990s. Los Angeles has seen fewer than 300 murders per year in the recent past, as compared to 1,000 per year in the early 1990s. On the other hand, Chicago has seen a 50 percent increase in shootings and murders this year. “There is no evidence of a national murder wave, yet increases in these select cities are indeed a serious problem,” the report concluded.