Between 2019 and 2020, the U.S. murder rate jumped 29% … its largest increase in 60 years.
That’s about 5,000 more murders than the year before. Overall, the U.S. saw about 14,000 additional homicides. Bloomberg reported that in 2020 black Americans made up 13.5% of the U.S. population and 55.6% of the homicide victims, the vast majority of which were young black men.
And what did they attribute that rise to?
The pandemic.
Bloomberg wasn’t alone in their confusion.
The media looked in vain for Covid theories that made sense and came up short. Then, as many Americans armed themselves in the face of a more violent society, the media tried to blame those people for the rise in crime, even pointing the finger at “stand your ground” laws.
Sometimes, they just pretended to have no idea at all.
Those excuses and confusion could only happen among those who were intentionally ignoring the radical criminal justice changes that we saw starting on May 25, 2020. That’s when George Floyd’s death kicked off a summer of violence and years of reduced policing.
It was dubbed the “Minneapolis Effect” by some criminologists, who’d seen the pattern play out after other high-profile police killings. It was a result of:
Defunding police departments in the wake of the video showing Derek Chauvin kneeling on Floyd.
Changes to policing like getting rid of chokeholds, banning no-knock warrants, and eliminating the use of rubber bullets.
Liberal DAs who got rid of cash bail and charged fewer offenders.
Cops policing less or retiring because of the demoralizing attitudes toward their work.
The pendulum is now swinging back. Mayors of liberal cities, including London Breed in San Francisco, are calling for heavier policing in their cities. And 2023 showed that murder rates fell back to normal levels.
But it’s mind-boggling that after seeing the biggest changes to policing in our lifetimes within just a few weeks, the media decided that the spike in crime was thanks to a virus.
–Ken
For 30 years I managed the merit system for one of the largest cities in the US. Though I retired 25 years ago I offer this observation based on ongoing events.
During the preceding decades there has been a continuous drive, especially in large cities, to achieve racial/ethnic representation in law enforcement personnel reflective of their communities. Federal and local legal and political pressures toward that end have been relentless. This is understandable from a political/social perspective. The unfortunate result had been a degradation of law enforcement hiring standards - keeping things legal and acceptable while achieving popular results. (One example: the city where I was employed once required new officers to be at least 5’9” tall. By 2000 there was no longer, in effect, any statute requirement. This change was driven by efforts to increase female and ethnic representation. That was a worthy goal in one regard but only to the willfully blinded does it maintain the overall ability of officers to present a commanding presence. Where stature decreases, resort to other, more lethal or violent, means becomes necessary- or, in the alternative, a degraded choice to maintain order).
Other standards have been compromised: prior criminal activity, minor drug use, tattoos, etc. Where those are winked at in personnel recruitment and selection ultimately the agency begins to wink at the same things in the community. It takes time for the transition to manifest itself resulting in more officers being found engaging in drugs, bribes and other “subliminal” activities. That’s the largely hidden stuff, use of excessive force becomes widely known and the reputation of law enforcement crashes.
What began as well intended hope for representation has resulted in near chaos in many large cities. When a large city mayor allowed riots and arson to go unopposed explaining that some folks merely needed to let off steam, the original purpose of law enforcement and the political will for public safety had demonstrably crashed.
Only when the newly “woke” actually wake up to reality will there be hope for return to sanity. It took 30+ years to reach this insanity, rehabilitation may take as long. One can hope not.
And there was/is a "secondary" pandemic murder wave with upwards of 17 million victims worldwide. It's called a Bio Weapon/Death Jab for a reason and the results are no surprise to its developers, as it turns out.