Murder Rose by Almost 30% in 2020. It’s Rising at a Slower Rate in 2021.
The United States in 2020 experienced the biggest rise in murder since the start of national record-keeping in 1960, according to data gathered by the FBI for its annual report on crime.
The Uniform Crime Report will stand as the official word on an unusually grim year, detailing a rise in murder of around 29%. The previous largest one-year change was a 12.7% increase in 1968. The national rate — murders per 100,000 — still remains about one-third below the rate in the early 1990s.
The data is scheduled to be released Monday along with a news release, but it was published early on the FBI’s Crime Data Explorer website.
The FBI said some numbers could change by Monday as it reviews possible discrepancies and receives updates. But the main conclusions of the data are highly unlikely to change.