Homicides went up in 2020 and 2021 and are now rapidly coming back down. Violent crime nationwide hasn't increased. But the perception of a crime wave still colors U.S. politics.
Before we start to pat ourselves on the back: How does the number of murders in the U. S. compare to the rest of the world? This is really the only meaningful metric, otherwise it's like a chain smoker congratulating themselves from dropping from 3 packs a day to 2.
*"... there are lies, damn lies, and statistics." *
*edit*: The link I posted referred to a high murder rate for U.S. Virgin Islands (not contential U.S.). So, it's not relevant to the conversation. Thanks for calling me out on it.
Hey I'm super glad to hear you're making a positive change. Quitting is tough, and it can be a long road. One day at a time. Congrats on your progress so far, I also believe you can do it!
Yeah, seems the US is somewhere around 34th according to this source.
Anyway, comparing murder rates between countries is generally fraught. Statistics tend to vary wildly even in different geographical areas, and the US is capital L Large. Rural and suburban US are often very competitive with other developed nations, but ghetto US is down in the gutter.
Thats US Virgin Islands at 4th with a rate of 49.3. The source you provided shows the US has a homicide rate of 4.96. Its a little unclear if the source is using murder and homicide interchangeably or not.