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.
🧵
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.
4. But now Jeff Asher (@[email protected]) has published data revealing the plunge in the murder rate in dozens of cities
Asher calls this drop "astonishing"
But other than a piece Asher wrote for The Atlantic, the data has not merited any dedicated coverage in major outlets
5. The quantity and tenor of crime coverage matters. It shapes public sentiment about crime and ultimately shapes important decisions around public safety budgets, police tactics, and criminal justice policy.
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. 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.
Judd Legum
Madame Beloved Dictator