Report: Violent crime rate continues to fall after pandemic peak

WASHINGTON – Violent crime rates in major U.S. cities continue to decline from the highs they reached during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new report from the Council on Criminal Justice.

In Virginia, murder rates in Richmond, Norfolk and Virginia Beach have declined this year compared to the first half of 2023. But advocates say there is still much work to be done to get crime, especially gun deaths, under control.

“One is too many for me,” said Charles Crest, board member of the group Stop the Violence 757. “So the numbers say: yes, we no longer have 10, but it is still an astronomical number. Almost every week we lose someone between the ages of 30 and 15.”

Nationally, the murder rate rose 30 percent between 2019 and 2020, the largest single-year increase in more than a century. Only this year did murder rates fall back below pandemic levels. The data comes from about 30 cities of varying sizes and also showed a decline in robberies, aggravated assault and domestic violence cases.

Ernesto Lopez, senior research specialist at the Council on Criminal Justice, said the results were encouraging but limited given city-to-city variation and the lack of municipalities providing accurate numbers.

“The number of murders is influenced by many local factors,” he said. “In fact, we know that most violent crimes are confined to certain neighborhoods. Therefore, it is imperative for those in charge to take the time to analyze and fully understand local crime patterns, while also keeping an eye on national trends.”

Auto thefts have increased recently in Richmond, but have decreased in Norfolk and Virginia Beach. In Washington, DC, homicides have decreased over the past year, but are still above 2019 levels.