Wow, the sharp decrease - erasing five years of steady increases - is really remarkable. As always, it seems to belie the simple causal mechanisms most people seem to believe. It must be hundreds of little, unheralded changes making a difference. I'm grateful that we are probably not due for a repeat of the 80s and 90s.
Actually, the decrease was not as sharp as I initially reported. I downloaded the data again because something seemed off to me and found that there were actually over 200 homicides, not the roughly 130 initially included in the original chart. There were still hundreds of fewer non-fatal shootings, so the trend line is absolutely in the correct direction but the decline was not as precipitous as I thought.
Law enforcement has been incredibly busy addressing the backlog of homicides and shootings. Following my local news closely, there are lots of stories coming out about people being charged with/convicted of numerous murders dating back several years. A lot of communities that were spiraling during the pandemic have worked hard to get things under control. This is a positive sign.
Wow, the sharp decrease - erasing five years of steady increases - is really remarkable. As always, it seems to belie the simple causal mechanisms most people seem to believe. It must be hundreds of little, unheralded changes making a difference. I'm grateful that we are probably not due for a repeat of the 80s and 90s.
Actually, the decrease was not as sharp as I initially reported. I downloaded the data again because something seemed off to me and found that there were actually over 200 homicides, not the roughly 130 initially included in the original chart. There were still hundreds of fewer non-fatal shootings, so the trend line is absolutely in the correct direction but the decline was not as precipitous as I thought.
Law enforcement has been incredibly busy addressing the backlog of homicides and shootings. Following my local news closely, there are lots of stories coming out about people being charged with/convicted of numerous murders dating back several years. A lot of communities that were spiraling during the pandemic have worked hard to get things under control. This is a positive sign.