Violent crime across the U.S. jumped in 2015 after two years of declines, the FBI announced Monday, adding that the number of murders reported by local law enforcement agencies was up 10.8 percent from 2014.
(FOX)- “We still have so much work to do,” Attorney General Loretta Lynch responded at an event in Little Rock, Ark. Many major cities, including Chicago, Baltimore and St. Louis, have struggled to restore trust between police and communities in the wake of officer-involved shootings and the Black Lives Matter movement.
Violent crime overall rose by 3.9 percent, the data showed. While up from 2014, it was still down from 2011 and 2006, the FBI reported. The murder rate for U.S. metropolitan areas was slightly higher compared to the rest of the country.
In July, President Obama said, “The fact of the matter is that the murder rate today, the violence rate today, is far lower than it was when Ronald Reagan was president, and lower than when I took office.” Since 2009, the nation has seen a 1.9 percent increase in murders, though the murder rate has slipped when population growth is factored in. Total violent crime has fallen by 9.6 percent.
The overall statistics show an estimated 15,696 murders and non-negligent manslaughters in the country in 2015, a 10.8 percent increase from the year before. Those totals do not include killings that agencies have deemed justifiable.
The figures released Monday were reported by law enforcement agencies through the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting Program, which compiles data on murders, aggravated assault, car thefts and other crime.
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