Crime Experts: Summer 2021 Violence in U.S. Could Get Worse
WASHINGTON (Fox News) – Crime analysts and experts have advised the U.S. police to brace for a potentially more violent summer than last year as crime trends show the bloodshed in some parts of the country, such as New York City, picked up earlier than is typically expected.
"It’s not getting any better,” Joseph Giacalone, an adjunct professor with the John Jay College of Criminal Justice, told Fox News.
"Let’s put it this way: New York City is already ahead of last year’s pace, but last year, the homicides and shootings really started spiking at the end of May and into June. So that will be the real tale of the tape, so to speak, to see what’s happening over there,” Giacalone continued.
Giacalone said the rise in crime "seems to be centered around the urban environments and the cities”.
"So, if you look at New York, Chicago, St. Louis, Baltimore, you name the big cities and they’re having huge problems,” Giacalone added.
Giacalone, a former sergeant for the New York Police Department (NYPD) who has been tracking the crime numbers, said the fast-approaching summer months generally bring out "more crime because there are more people out there”.
"We have … the pandemic ending. People want to get out and do things again,” he stated, adding, "And it’s just a cocktail for disaster to some.”
According to the Gun Violence Archive, 369 people were shot in the past 72 hours as of Friday afternoon.
As of Sunday, the NYPD reported a 350% increase in murders for the week prior compared to the same time year-over-year, statistics show. Shootings were up 166% in April compared to April 2020, police previously announced.
In Chicago, the most recently available crime statistics show that murder was up 56% from April 26 to May 2 compared to the same time last year, the Chicago Police Department said. The number of shooting incidents was also up 40% during the same time frame year-over-year, police added.
In Los Angeles, murders year-to-date as of May 8 were up 30.9% from the same time last year, while reports of shots fired incidents increased by 58% and the number of shooting victims was up 67.2%, Los Angeles Police Department statistics show.
"It’s not getting any better,” Joseph Giacalone, an adjunct professor with the John Jay College of Criminal Justice, told Fox News.
"Let’s put it this way: New York City is already ahead of last year’s pace, but last year, the homicides and shootings really started spiking at the end of May and into June. So that will be the real tale of the tape, so to speak, to see what’s happening over there,” Giacalone continued.
Giacalone said the rise in crime "seems to be centered around the urban environments and the cities”.
"So, if you look at New York, Chicago, St. Louis, Baltimore, you name the big cities and they’re having huge problems,” Giacalone added.
Giacalone, a former sergeant for the New York Police Department (NYPD) who has been tracking the crime numbers, said the fast-approaching summer months generally bring out "more crime because there are more people out there”.
"We have … the pandemic ending. People want to get out and do things again,” he stated, adding, "And it’s just a cocktail for disaster to some.”
According to the Gun Violence Archive, 369 people were shot in the past 72 hours as of Friday afternoon.
As of Sunday, the NYPD reported a 350% increase in murders for the week prior compared to the same time year-over-year, statistics show. Shootings were up 166% in April compared to April 2020, police previously announced.
In Chicago, the most recently available crime statistics show that murder was up 56% from April 26 to May 2 compared to the same time last year, the Chicago Police Department said. The number of shooting incidents was also up 40% during the same time frame year-over-year, police added.
In Los Angeles, murders year-to-date as of May 8 were up 30.9% from the same time last year, while reports of shots fired incidents increased by 58% and the number of shooting victims was up 67.2%, Los Angeles Police Department statistics show.