We know that all things work together for the good in the end. But in the meantime, it seems like the bad news just keeps on coming.
The latest comes courtesy of the FBI, whose data inform us that 2020 saw one of the most dramatic increases in crime our nation has ever witnessed. The number of homicides increased by 23%, the largest increase ever recorded. The homicide rate of 6.5 per 100,000 in 2020 represents a stunning 27% increase, also a record jump. 2020’s numbers do not end with homicide. Carjacking jumped by about 11%, the largest increase in decades. Arson increased by 21%, likely the largest increase since records began. Overall violent crime increased by about 5%.
The question is why this spike in violent crime happened.
Many on the Left blame the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdowns or the increase in gun ownership that occurred during the pandemic. But data from other countries do not support either of these contentions.
Unlike our violent crime increase, Japan’s low crime rate dropped even further by record levels in 2020, with a 17.9% decrease. This includes a decrease of 9.7% in “heinous” crimes, which include murder. Overall, our homicide rate stands more than 20 times higher than Japan’s, where the figures are just 0.28 per 100,000. Japan, with a full one-third of America’s population, had just 929 murders in 2020, compared to our more than 17,000.
Serbia and Switzerland, two countries with the highest gun ownership rates in the world behind the United States, also enjoy significantly lower homicide rates than our country by a massive sixfold and 13-fold, respectively. This is strong evidence that gun ownership alone does not cause crime. And since these countries experienced COVID-19, that can’t be the culprit either.
So where did this increase in crime in 2020 come from? Several reasons come to mind.
First, letting criminals out of prison under the guise of so-called criminal justice reform has allowed some dangerous felons back onto the streets. A recent Justice Department study shows that 68% of released prisoners will be rearrested within three years and 83% within nine years. Despite claims by supporters that those released would only be nonviolent offenders, many of those released have actually been violent criminals.
Second, many district attorneys in major cities around the nation are refusing to prosecute property and nonviolent crimes under the absurd reasoning that doing so would be racist, as the bulk of those incarcerated would be black or Hispanic. They are correct in recognizing the sad reality that most of those arrested would be black or brown. But to leave these individuals on the streets only allows them to terrorize their own communities, thus making black and brown communities less safe, not more. Thus, if we desire to show real compassion for minorities, we must lock up the criminals who terrorize those communities.
Third, the fatherlessness epidemic is a significant driver of crime. The data show that children raised in two-parent married homes have a much lower chance of becoming involved in crime. If the federal government and the states focused their sights on addressing this problem, we would see strong decreases in crime.
Finally, there’s what’s known as the Ferguson effect. Due to the threat of lawsuits, being fired, or having their names and their families dragged through the mud by an often biased media, many police officers have chosen to reduce their engagement in minority communities so as to reduce the possibility of an incident. This means that the law-abiding citizens in those communities are less protected against crime, and criminals are emboldened. This clearly results in increased crime.
It is critical that our nation reverse these dangerous trends. We must not let violent criminals go free from prison prematurely, we must prosecute habitual criminals, and we must restore and strengthen families. And police must more effectively engage minority communities through proactive policing.
Dr. Ben Carson is the founder and chairman of the American Cornerstone Institute and the former secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
