Violent Crime Jumped in 2015

The FBI released its definitive report on crime in 2015, so it’s now official: violent crime spiked upward in 2015.

* In 2015, an estimated 1,197,704 violent crimes occurred nationwide, an increase of 3.9 percent from the 2014 estimate.
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* There were an estimated 372.6 violent crimes per 100,000 inhabitants in 2015, a rate that rose 3.1 percent when compared with the 2014 estimated violent crime rate.

After decades of decline, the homicide rate is climbing again. Here are the raw numbers of homicides from 2012 through 2015, per the FBI’s annual reports:

2012: 14,349
2013: 13,716
2014: 13,594
2015: 15,192

I don’t know of any potential explanation for the jump last year other than the war on cops, Black Lives Matter, and the Obama administration’s anti-incarceration policies. Expect another increase when the numbers come in for 2016.

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