Murders, other crimes are in decline across the world due to coronavirus lockdowns

Much has been made about the effect the novel COVID-19 coronavirus has had on air quality, but it turns out there's also been a downturn in crime.

The New York Times reports there's been a striking decline in murders around the world, particularly in Latin American countries, which have some of the highest homicide rates globally. With fewer people on the street, it's been easier for police to suss out criminal activity. And, per the Times, some criminal gangs have actually led the charge in imposing curfews in areas where they hold sway as part of an effort to curb the virus' spread.

In El Salvador, for example, there were just 65 homicides in March, compared to 114 in February. Colombia reported 91 homicides between March 20 and 25; over the same span in 2019 there were 206.

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The change is real outside of Latin America, as well. In Chicago, drug arrests have fallen by 42 percent since the city shutdown, while overall crime dropped by 10 percent, The Associated Press reports. And in South Africa's first week of lockdown measures, Police Minister Bheki Cele said rapes were down from 700 to 101 over the same period from last year, while murders decreased from 326 to 94.

Despite all that, it's important to consider that the decline isn't monolithic. There may be less crime on the streets, but domestic abuse appears to be on the rise worldwide, as people are confined to their homes.