News Analysis
America is experiencing a major increase in crime. Upon a murder explosion that started in 2020, other forms of criminality have metastasized too over the past year or so, particularly robberies, carjacking, burglaries, and theft. Police agencies across the country report perpetrators becoming more brazen and systematic.
The wildfire of villainy is fueled by an atmosphere of lawlessness and diminished accountability, but it doesn’t spread indiscriminately—many areas have successfully resisted it.
After the crack epidemic abated in the early 1990s, America enjoyed decades of generally declining crime. Even after murder spiked in 2015–16 and then again in 2020, other forms of malefaction stayed on a downward trend, particularly crime targeting property like theft and robbery….