Homicides went up in 2020 and 2021 and are now rapidly coming back down. Violent crime nationwide hasn't increased. But the perception of a crime wave still colors U.S. politics.
Something that is worth mentioning is that the general mental health of the nation has gotten much worse too. Suicides from 2000 and 2020 has increased from between 30% and 60% (varies from source) indicating a deteriorating mental health of most citizens. This often in turn causes people to think and act irrationally or dangerously. This also correlates to the struggles of the pandemic, many people’s mental health suffered during the lockdowns and during this period murders, police killings and suicides spiked during it.
Does this mean the police are perfect? Not necessarily, but when it comes to most trends and phenomena it’s generally unhelpful to pin the blame on individuals instead of a more nuanced and informed explanation.
Something that is worth mentioning is that the general mental health of the nation has gotten much worse too. Suicides from 2000 and 2020 has increased from between 30% and 60% (varies from source) indicating a deteriorating mental health of most citizens. This often in turn causes people to think and act irrationally or dangerously. This also correlates to the struggles of the pandemic, many people’s mental health suffered during the lockdowns and during this period murders, police killings and suicides spiked during it.
Does this mean the police are perfect? Not necessarily, but when it comes to most trends and phenomena it’s generally unhelpful to pin the blame on individuals instead of a more nuanced and informed explanation.