Homicide Is Soaring In The Salt Lake City Metro Area

Salt Lake City UT

11 October, 2021

1:53 PM

Description

By Samuel Stebbins, 24/7 Wall St. - Salt Lake City 2021-10-10 Homicides are rising at a record pace in the United States. According to a recent FBI report, there were a total of 21,570 murders committed in 2020, the most of any year in the last two and a half decades and up nearly 30% from 2019 — the largest annual increase on record. The spike in homicides came during a tumultuous year. The COVID-19 pandemic shut down schools and left millions of Americans out of work. Footage of the murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer rattled confidence in American law enforcement and sparked nationwide protests. Firearms sales soared, and tens of millions of new guns proliferated across communities nationwide. Here is a look at the states where gun sales are surging. Some experts speculate that each of these factors likely played a role in rising homicide rates nationwide. While it may be years before the precise causal factors are identified, many U.S. cities are bearing the brunt of the rash of deadly violence. In metropolitan areas across the country, the increase in homicides last year eclipsed the national surge — in some cases, many times over. Homicides in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area surged by 62.2% last year. There were a total of 60 murders in the area in 2020, up from 37 in 2019. The trend shows no sign of slowing, as there have been more homicides in the city proper so far in 2021 than there were at the same point in 2020. Amid the surge in violence and anti-police protests throughout 2020, nearly 60 Salt Lake City police officers left the force last year, and dozens have left this year. The job vacancies in the local police force have contributed to an increase in response times, from about 30 minutes in January 2021, to 49 minutes in May. All data in this story is at the metro area level from the FBI. Only metro areas with populations of at least 250,000 residents and at least one homicide in 2019 were considered.     Can't see the article's infographic? Click here to view the original story.This story was originally published by 24/7 Wall St., a news organization that produces real-time business commentary and data-driven reporting for state and local markets across the country.