By St. Louis Circuit Attorney's Office - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=41904099

New crime statistics revealed that California had its deadliest year since 2007, with a 31% increase in homicide rates in 2020.

The Department of Justice reported that 2,202 homicides happened last year, which is 523 more than occurred in 2019. The skyrocketing murder rates almost hit the 2007 high of 2,258.

Hispanic people, who account for 39% of the population, made up 45% of the victims last year, while black people, who only make up 6.5% of California residents, were a staggering 31% of the murder victims.  

Homicide rates in California had been on a steady decline since 2017, with 2019’s murder rate reaching the lowest numbers since 1966. UC Berkeley experts attribute the reversal to the state’s restrictive stay-at-home orders during the pandemic.

“We were really surprised by the increase in homicide, but also that California is looking at worst, in step with the rest of the country and is even maybe looking a little bit better than what we’re seeing nationally,” said Mia Bird of UC Berkeley. “What that tells us is that it’s not something special about California, it’s a really serious issue for California and for the rest of the country.”

Arguments were the driving factor behind most murders, attributed to 34.2%, while gang-related activity made up 28.2%, with domestic violence and homicides stemming from rape and robbery each accounting for less than ten percent of contributing circumstances.

While overall violent crime only went up slightly and property crimes actually dropping by 7.7%, Democratic Attorney General Rob Bonta says the only explanation for the surge in murder rates is gun sales.

“With more weapons, more economic stagnation, more desperation, I think those are all potential components and drivers of where we are today,” he remarked.  

74.2% of 2020 homicides involved a firearm and handgun sales increased by 65.5% last year.  

“Gun violence is an epidemic in this country,” Bonta said before contradicting himself. “We are fortunate in California to have common-sense gun laws that help combat the epidemic and keep the public safe. With one of the lowest firearm mortality rates in the country, we’ve seen our laws work. 




Comments

  1. The only explanation for the surge in gun violence are the insane Dim policies of sanctuary cities/state for criminal illegals, refusal to work with ICE, mass early release of criminals and refusal to keep arrested criminals in jail while they await trial or to even prosecute them at all. As if Kate Steinli’s senseless murder wasn’t enough of a wake-up call, the situation in Cali has just gone from bad to worse under the blatant disregard for public safety from the Gov, AG and DAs by their refusal to follow the law. They have made legal gun ownership an absolute necessity for self-preservation in Crazifornication!

  2. So the 34% increase in Gun violence by Illegal Aliens in California hasn’t increased homicides?!

  3. How do people this stupid ever get elected? Using these useful idiots logic : fuel causes vehicle accidents, coffins cause death, bullets kill by themselves—without warning.

  4. Bonta, standard mouthpiece and Communist propaganda. Instead of being honest, he is a worthless parasite and a domestic terrorist.

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