The United States had 20 percent more homicides in 2020 than the previous year, and outgoing New York Governor Andrew Cuomo warned that more people were dying of violence and crime in the country than coronavirus.
According to the Czech Television correspondent David Miřejovský, it is a combination of a constant American phenomenon and new impulses. According to the rapporteur, crime has been rising in big cities for years, “what we witnessed in 2020 and the first half of 2021 is really something special, there is a huge increase compared to 2018 and 2019,” he says.
U.S. crime prevention experts say the clear cause is a coronavirus pandemic and its restrictions. “Schools have been closed for more than a year, it is not possible to make a contact campaign and focus on people, especially young men from poor neighborhoods. In Washington alone, there are tens of thousands of children who have not enrolled in distance education in a year and a half, and the authorities do not even know where they are, ”says the rapporteur.
Slums, especially in large cities, suffer from significant social and financial problems despite the pandemic. This, too, is associated with large increases in crime. Almost two hundred homicides were reported in the United States capital in 2020, and more than 100 in the first half of 2021.
According to Miřejovský, the situation is reminiscent of the turn of the eighties and nineties, when a new drug – crack – was on the rise in the USA. “In 1991, 482 people were murdered. At that time, the activity of very violent gangs also increased enormously. This was soon followed by various repressive legislative actions, such as a ban on the sale of assault rifles for several years. “
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Legislative steps
According to Miřejovský, Joe Biden and his administration have limited possibilities to prevent violence. “It is primarily a matter of individual cities and states. The president, of course, comes up with various plans to help vulnerable communities. Democrats appear to be preparing a strong restriction on the ability to legally hold firearms, which is de facto reminiscent of the 1990s. In addition, it is mainly a matter of local governments, which previously bet on the success of contact campaigns and prevention. This has completely fallen in the last fifteen months, “he explains.
Not a day goes by that there are no reports of gang shootings and murders from big cities. Recent trends have also shown regular reports of a police officer being shot or shot. Shootouts are no longer limited to slums, but also take place in the center on very busy streets. Innocent pedestrians are so often among the victims.
In the US, arms sales have also increased over the past year and a half. “It is a classic reaction of a certain part of American society to the feeling of danger, as it was after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. American arms lovers assume that the democratic administration will reach for a more significant restriction on the sale of certain weapons. That is why they are already pre-supplying themselves, “says the rapporteur.
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