Last Year, US Homicides Surged Beyond 9/11 Terror Attacks... Largest Increase in Over 100 Years

Exceptional Situation... Generally on a Downward Trend

[Asia Economy Reporter Minwoo Lee] Last year, the murder rate in the United States surged by 30% to 7.8 cases per 100,000 people compared to the previous year. This marks the largest increase in over a century.

On the 27th (local time), the U.S. public opinion research organization Pew Research analyzed data released earlier this month by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which compiled death certificate information, and reported these findings.

According to CDC data, there were 7.8 murders per 100,000 people in the U.S. last year. This is a 30% increase from 6 cases per 100,000 in 2019. The increase rate far exceeded the 20% rise seen in 2001 during the 9/11 attacks, reaching the highest level since 1905.

The Pew Research Center explained, "Although the CDC has not officially released the figures, referencing data collected by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) from nationwide law enforcement agencies shows that there were a total of 21,570 murders in the U.S. last year," adding, "This is the highest number since 1995, representing a 29.0% increase from 16,669 cases the previous year." However, they noted that FBI figures may differ from actual numbers as they do not aggregate data from all law enforcement agencies.

Murder rates increased in most states. Montana (84%), South Dakota (81%), and Delaware (51%) saw particularly high rises. States with high population densities such as New York (47%), Pennsylvania (39%), Illinois (38%), Ohio (38%), and California (36%) also showed increases above the average.

The reasons for the sharp rise in murders are unclear. Experts speculate that social and economic changes following the COVID-19 pandemic and the 'George Floyd' incident, which involved police brutality, may have contributed.

However, on a broader scale, the murder rate per capita has shown a declining trend over recent decades. The year 2020 is considered somewhat exceptional. According to the CDC, the rate of 7.8 per 100,000 last year is about 22% lower than the 10 per 100,000 seen in the 1990s. It is also noted to be lower than rates in the 1970s and 1980s.

Meanwhile, deaths from suicide and drug overdoses outnumbered murders. Last year, suicides were recorded at 13.5 per 100,000 people, and drug overdoses at 27.1 per 100,000. Additionally, 77% of murders were related to firearms, a 4 percentage point increase from the previous year.