US homicide rate rises again this year: Report

Major cities across the United States have experienced a surge in homicides in recent months, a new report has found, continuing a trend that began last year.

Homicides in roughly 30 US cities spiked by 9 percent over the first three months of 2016 compared to the same period last year, according to a report issued by the Major Cities Chiefs Association on Friday.

The association also reported increases in rapes, robberies, aggravated assaults and non-fatal shootings.

The murder rate was particularly grim for a handful of cities, including Chicago, Los Angeles, Dallas and Las Vegas, where the number of homicides increased after killings and other violent crimes also went up in 2015.

Chicago's 141 homicides were by far the most of the cities surveyed, a 70 percent increase over last year. The Los Angeles Police Department reported 73 homicides, up from 55. The 40 homicides in Las Vegas were nearly double last year's total.

The report comes two days after FBI Director James Comey linked the recent increase in crime to the so-called “viral video effect,” a theory that police officers have been less aggressive because of concerns about being recorded and potentially charged with a crime.

“I was very worried about it last fall, and I am in many ways more worried, because the numbers are not only going up, they’re continuing to go up in most of those cities faster than they were going up last year,” Comey, who got an early look at the numbers, said Wednesday. “Something is happening.”

Criminologists and law enforcement officials, including Comey, say the causes of the increases are unclear, and they offer a variety of possible explanations, including gang violence and bloodshed stemming from drug addictions.

Not all cities reported increases in homicides, however. New York, for example, recorded 68 homicides, down from 85 the year before.

The White House pushed back against Comey's “viral video” comments on Friday, with Press Secretary Josh Earnest saying it's "unclear what's going on" and that there is not a firm answer to the rise in crime.

"This administration makes policy decisions that are rooted in evidence," Earnest said at a White House briefing. "We can't make broad, sweeping policy decisions or draw policy conclusions based on anecdotal evidence. That's irresponsible and ultimately counterproductive."

Earnest said it was a problem that some cities “are experiencing a troubling surge in violent crime,” adding: “But there’s not evidence at this point to link that surge in violent crime to the so-called viral video effect, or the Ferguson effect. There’s just no evidence to substantiate that.”

Courtesy -- Press TV

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