Data released Monday by the FBI show a spike of nearly 30% in homicides last year, the highest single-year increase since the agency began recording crime data in 1960.
The more than 21,500 killings reported in 2020 is about 5,000 more than the previous year, but less than the all-time high of 24,703 recorded in 1991.
The FBI annual Uniform Crime Report shows homicides last year started to rise in the summer and remained at high levels in the following months.
Data also show the number of overall crimes decreased by about 6% between 2019 and 2020, while violent crimes went up by 5% — the first single-year increase in four years.
The report is based on data submitted by 15,897 of the 18,619 eligible law-enforcement agencies — federal, state, county, city, university and college, and tribal.
• Emily Zantow can be reached at ezantow@washingtontimes.com.
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