Homicide Rates Climb, Citizens Told it is the New Normal

The Washington Post has this story addressing the steep increase in homicides across the country in the last year. 

“It’s going to get worse,” Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson (D) said.

As the homicide rate climbed through a year of pandemic-imposed shutdowns and civil unrest, officials held firm to their belief that the rise was driven by that exceptional set of circumstances. As life returned to normal, the theory went, the killings would slow.

But even as coronavirus restrictions have been lifted and protests have quieted in recent months, the violence has not subsided. Indeed, it has continued to grow. And now, local leaders are grappling with a possibility they had long feared: that a decades-long era of declining murder rates in America’s cities may be over, and that the increased killings may be here to stay.

“There’s nothing,” said Jackson, “that’s going to bring this down in the near future.”

Stating that homicides are on the rise and citizens must adjust to that as the new normal, the argument posed by multiple mayors, is hardly an answer. According to the article, many police unions and chiefs believe the spike in shootings and homicides is related to the criminal justice reforms that has negatively impacted morale and allowed criminals to be out in society rather than incarcerated.  The elimination of consequences for criminals has always encouraged increased  crime. These elements offer clear explanations for the spike in murders. In contrast, the counter argument that stronger gun control legislation would curb crime is fallible. Gun control legislation does not control street-bought firearms or those sold on the black market.