Please note!

This fact brief was originally published as an experiment to test the concepts behind fact briefs.

Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of useful information in fact briefs like this one, not all of them reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.

FACT BRIEF

Did violent crime increase in the US in 2021?

Wednesday, March 30, 2022

By Lisa Freedland

Copy link

Copy featured image

YES

Violent crime did increase in 2021 under Democratic president Biden, but at a slower pace than in 2020, when Republican president Trump was still in office. Pew posits the COVID-19 pandemic and changes to policing after the George Floyd protests as two hypotheses for the spike.

Based on crime data from 22 major U.S. cities, the Council on Criminal Justice found that the country's homicide rate was up 5% from 2020 and 44% from 2019. Additionally, gun assaults rose 8% and aggravated assaults were up 4% compared to 2020 levels, while robberies remained virtually unchanged.

In contrast, non-violent crimes, such as property and drug offenses, dropped in 2021. However, drug overdoses broke records in 2021, suggesting that while drug arrests declined, drug use had not.

Violent crime rates are still significantly lower than in the past: using FBI data, Pew reported that the violent crime rate fell 49% between 1993 and 2019.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

Sources

Pew Research What we know about the increase in U.S. murders in 2020

Council on Criminal Justice Homicides Continued to Increase in Major U.S. Cities in 2021, but at Slower Pace

The Atlantic America Is Having a Violence Wave, Not a Crime Wave

Pew Research What the data says (and doesn’t say) about crime in the United States

ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTOR

Gigafact

Between 2020 and 2022, under close editorial supervision, Gigafact contracted a group of freelance writers and editors to test the concepts for fact briefs and provide inputs to our software development process. We call this effort Gigafact Foundry. Over the course of these two years, Gigafact Foundry writers published over 1500 fact briefs in response to claims they found online. Their important work forms the basis of Gigafact formats and editorial guidelines, and is available to the public on Gigafact.org. Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of relevant information to be found, not all fact briefs produced by Gigafact Foundry reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date and need to be looked at with fresh eyes, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.

FACT BRIEF BY

Latest fact briefs

About fact briefs published on Gigafact

Fact briefs are short, credibly sourced summaries that offer “yes/no” answers in response to claims found online. They rely on publicly available, often primary source data and documents. Fact briefs are created by contributors to Gigafact —a nonprofit project looking to expand participation in fact-checking and protect the democratic process. See all fact briefs here.