Judd LegumJun 20, 2023

1. The US murder rate is down an 12% year-to-date, based on 90 cities that have released data.

If the trend holds it will be the single largest annual decline in the murder rate ever recorded.

And yet, you probably haven't heard anything about it.

🧵

Show threadJudd LegumJun 20, 2023

2. In 2020, along with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a dramatic spike in murders in the United States.

This increase in lethal violence, understandably, was covered extensively in national and local media outlets.

Show threadJudd LegumJun 20, 2023
3. Yet, much of this coverage lacked critical context. While the increase in murders was significant, the overall murder rate remained far below its peak in the 1980s and 90s.
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@juddlegum
Some people ascribe the decline in the murder rate in the 1990s to the removal of lead from petrol (gasoline).
Is it safe to use such recent numbers for murders? Could they be low because legal process takes years?
Jun 20, 2023 at 10:44pmWeb