Crime Floods American Cities, Where Allowed

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.

That is no longer the case.

Of the 150 law enforcement agencies that submitted data to the FBI for the first half of 2022, about 60 percent reported increases in property crimes. Nearly one-third reported upswings in murder and robbery greater than 20 percent and almost a quarter reported increases in burglary and theft exceeding 20 percent, compared to the same period a year earlier.

Retailers reported a 26 percent increase in organized theft in 2021, according to the latest survey by the National Retail Federation, an industry group (pdf). More than 70 percent said the risk of theft, organized retail crime, and violence toward personnel increased last year. More than 80 percent of the respondents said organized theft has gotten more aggressive and violent.

Among major cities, about one in three saw robbery shoot up by more than 20 percent in the first half of this year. One in five experienced murders going up by more than 20 percent, compared to the first half of 2021, according to a survey by the Major Cities Chiefs Association, which draws data from 70 large police

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