Quarantine is not a hindrance: there is a surge in crime in New York

A spike in crime has been observed in New York for the second week in a row despite quarantine and self-isolation designed to stop the spread of coronavirus. About it reports the publication Daily News.

The number of murders in 2020 exceeded the number of murders in the same period last year. So, last week in New York, 10 murders occurred, compared with five for the same week in 2019. The week before, 11 murders were committed, compared with four over the same period last year, police said.

This surge is unfolding the trend observed in the first three months of this year. At the end of March, the number of killings decreased by 10% compared with the first quarter of 2019. As of April 20, 92 killings were recorded - almost 6% more than 87 killings a year ago.

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Eugene O'Donnell, a professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, said blocking was likely to increase anger and make criminals more prone to violent behavior.

“People at this stage will focus exclusively on self-preservation,” he said.

In his opinion, the last place the "bad guys" want to go to is jail. However, in order to survive, they will be forced to commit crimes. Speaking about the rise in crime, O'Donnell noted that New York is not alone in this. Violence is also seen in Chicago, where 21 shootings took place earlier this month, six of which were fatal.

“NYPD is very concerned about the modest homicide rate and remains committed to ensuring the safety of all New Yorkers,” NYPD spokeswoman Sergeant Mary O'Donnell said April 20. "While these numbers are troubling, we made arrests in 11 of these cases and have strong leads in others."

With regard to crimes of domestic violence, the police said that only five of the 29 killings recorded since March 16 were related to him. And this is despite the fact that the potential for such crimes is high, because people are forced to stay at home more. Among them - the murder of a girl by her boyfriend, which occurred on the morning of April 19 in East Harlem, as well as in Brooklyn, where a mentally ill guy killed and dismembered his father.

Several other killings resulted from street fighting, love rivalries and drug disputes.

However, Eugene O'Donnell said the homicide rate remains relatively low compared to past years and decades. “People are behaving surprisingly well,” he said, adding that every law enforcement officer should be concerned about how things will play out over the long term.

In general, since the beginning of strict isolation in the city there has been a double-digit number of robberies and criminal attacks, as well as a surge in burglaries and car thefts.