As we have been warning since politicians locked down nations, states, and cities, there would be sharp rises in violent crime, and people would be leaving densely populated cities for safe-haven suburbs and ex-burbs.
With people losing everything and having nothing left to lose, they are losing it. LAPD Chief Michel Moore said last week he was concerned at the “velocity” of violence in Los Angeles after announcing the city had nearly 100 more murders in 2020 than in the previous year.
The Los Angeles Daily News reported that police pin most of the blame on gang violence and access to illegal firearms. Moore told reporters he believes the COVID outbreak and subsequent lockdowns played a role in the 349 killings – the highest number in a decade. Shootings also increased by up to 40 percent.
What is old news to Trends Journal subscribers is new in the news today. Police say economic hardships have put more residents on the streets. City gang-intervention workers, who would generally be at hospitals “working to quell further acts of retaliation,” are having a more difficult time gaining access inside these locations.
“You can only make inferences [based on] what’s happening and what’s not happening,” Paul Vernon, a police spokesman said. He said the lockdowns played a major role in these violent trends since the beginning of the outbreak.
The Los Angeles Times reported the city has seen a decrease in other crimes such as small-scale property theft, rapes, and robberies.
TREND FORECAST: Los Angeles has joined other cities like New York, Chicago, and Minneapolis that have all seen notable increases in killings in 2020. COVID has kept children and teens home from school, and, as we reported, the economic fallout from lockdowns has hit minority communities particularly hard.
Not only will killings continue to rise in 2021, so, too, will gang violence as more down, out, and desperate young adults ban together in the fight for money and power.
Indeed, “Survivalism,” one of our Top Trends for 2021, will attract wider audiences of everyday people who will want to do what they can and learn what they can to protect their lives, loved ones, homes, businesses, etc.
