Violent Crime on the Rise in the US, Remains Concern for NJ Law Enforcement

The total number of murders, aggravated assaults, sexual assaults, and other violent crimes in major U.S. cities is on the rise, according to an updated crime report just issued by the NYU School of Law’s Brennan Center for Justice.

The Brennan Center released a preliminary crime report in September, with researchers looking at data from the country’s 30 largest cities and concluding that the overall crime rate in these cities would likely remain stagnant over the final few months of 2016. Instead, the recent updated crime report shows that murder rates have continued to spiral “out of control,” with the total number of homicides in major US cities increasing by more than 14 percent over 2015.

While overall crime in the largest American cities increased by only 0.3 percent from 2015 to 2016, the violent crime rate went up by 3.3 percent. In some cities, most notably Chicago, the total number of violent crimes was shockingly high. (Chicago saw an uptick in violent crime of nearly 18 percent and an increase in murders of more than 43 percent.)

Lower Crime Rates in New Jersey and New York

The news wasn’t entirely bad, though. According to the Brennan Center report, 12 cities saw declines in their violent crime rates. Among the areas of the country with lower numbers when it comes to murders, assaults, and robberies was New York City.

While there were no New Jersey cities included in the Brennan Center crime report, the NJ State Police recently released statistics showing that overall crime numbers are down in 2016. However, it is worth noting that the murder rate in NJ did rise slightly this year.

The complete data on crime rates throughout the U.S. will not be available until September 2017, when the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) releases its annual Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) statistics. Last year’s UCR data showed that New Jersey saw a decrease in both violent crime and non-violent property crime, with the violent crime rate declining by roughly two percent. However, there were significantly more violent crimes in Atlantic City in 2015 as compared to the previous year. The same was true of many other municipalities in Atlantic County, which could indicate that South Jersey law enforcement is cracking down on violent crime and making more arrests.

To learn more, check out the CrimeReport.org article, “Rising Violent Crime in 13 U.S. Cities: Report.”

If you have been charged with aggravated assault, robbery, or any other violent crime in Atlantic County, NJ, you need an experienced criminal defense attorney on your side. The experienced, aggressive criminal defense lawyers at the Law Offices of John W. Tumelty can help you fight your criminal charges and avoid the most severe penalties. Contact us today to schedule a free consultation about your case.