Murder rates spike in at least 35 cities across the country

A free daily digest of the biggest news stories of the day - and the best features from our website
Thank you for signing up to TheWeek. You will receive a verification email shortly.
There was a problem. Please refresh the page and try again.
The summer isn't even over yet, and already Milwaukee has surpassed the total homicide count for the entire year of 2014 by 18 homicides. But this troubling stat isn't an outlier: More than 30 other cities across the U.S. are reporting similar trends, The New York Times reports. With months still left in the year, homicides in U.S. cities including New Orleans, Baltimore, and St. Louis have already hit triple digits, far outpacing the number of murders in the same period of the previous year. In Baltimore, for example, there have so far been 215 homicides in 2015; at this time last year, there were 138.
The reason for this surprising uptick has yet to be determined. Law enforcement experts say "disparate factors are at play in different cities," including rivalries among street gangs and the availability of guns. One theory posits that "intense national scrutiny of the use of force by the police has made officers less aggressive and emboldened criminals," The New York Times reports. Police officials also noted they're seeing a shift in attitudes about the willingness to use violence to settle disagreements, particularly among "disenchanted young men in poor neighborhoods."
The Justice Department is expected to launch an initiative this month to deal with the increased homicide rates.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Continue reading for free
We hope you're enjoying The Week's refreshingly open-minded journalism.
Subscribed to The Week? Register your account with the same email as your subscription.
Sign up to our 10 Things You Need to Know Today newsletter
A free daily digest of the biggest news stories of the day - and the best features from our website
-
More than 2,000 dead following massive earthquake in Morocco
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Mexico's next president will almost certainly be its 1st female president
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
North Korea's Kim to visit Putin in eastern Russia to discuss arms sales for Ukraine war, U.S. says
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Gabon's military leader sworn in following coup in latest African uprising
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Nobody seems surprised Wagner's Prigozhin died under suspicious circumstances
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Western mountain climbers allegedly left Pakistani porter to die on K2
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
'Circular saw blades' divide controversial Rio Grande buoys installed by Texas governor
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Los Angeles city workers stage 1-day walkout over labor conditions
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published