What's Driving Recent Crime Statistics?

This Abridge News topic aggregates four unique arguments on different sides of the debate. Here are the quick facts to get you started:

THE QUICK FACTS

• According to a recent Wall Street Journal report, homicide rates in major cities have increased 24% so far this year. Many cities saw drops in other crimes, however, including robberies, burglaries, and rapes, which police attribute to coronavirus lockdowns.
• This comes amidst a national conversation about criminal justice, with many advocating to reform, defund, or abolish police forces. Millions have participated in ongoing nationwide protests against police actions, resulting in thousands of arrests. A global economic downturn has also placed millions out of work.
• The recent rise in homicides breaks with the pre-2020 trend of falling crime rates -- between 1993 and 2018, violent crime in American cities fell by about 54%. (Source: WSJ)
• While President Trump has blamed increasing violence on Democratic Party leadership in certain cities, the WSJ report states that homicides are a "bipartisan issue." The report also included data showing that, on average, cities with Democratic mayors saw steeper increases in homicides and decreases in robberies than cities with Republican and Independent mayors.

CLICK TO VIEW OPINIONS ranging from It's Complicated to Blame Democrats