Violent Crime Rising in US Cities, Study Finds

Violent crime is on the rise so far this year in major cities across the US compared to the number of homicides, rapes, robberies, assaults and shootings that occurred in the same cities by this point in 2015, a new report has found.

The midyear violent crime survey released Monday by the Major Cities Chiefs Association shows 307 more homicides so far in 2016, according to data from 51 law enforcement agencies from some of the largest US cities.

In addition to a large increase in homicides, major cities in the US have experienced more than 1,000 more robberies, almost 2,000 more aggravated assaults and more than 600 non-fatal shootings in 2016 compared to this time last year. The only category of violent crime not reflecting an increase when compared to last year is rape.

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Responding to Donald Trump’s convention speech last week, in which the Republican presidential nominee spoke of rising crime and violent threats, President Barack Obama downplayed the notion that violence is increasing in the US, though he conceded that there has been an uptick in violence in some major cities.

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