Murders increasing in USA

ACCORDING to figures obtained by the New York Times, murder rates have increased drastically across America in 2015, with at least 30 cities reporting a rise in violence.

The largest rise is reported as being in Milwaukee with an enormous increase of 76 per cent and this is followed by St Louis at 60 per cent and Baltimore at 56 per cent. There is no ready explanation for this sudden rise.

It has been argued by some officials that media-led scrutiny of force used by the police has meant that they are being less ´hands on´ in the streets, which in turn has encouraged an increase in this type of crime. Others blame the police’s use of force and poor race relations following the fatal shooting of black teenager Michael Brown by a white police officer in Ferguson, Missouri, last year.

Theories abound but the cold fact is that murders have increased with no obvious or apparent concrete reason.