Homicide Statistics

According to a November 2020 Report generated by the Council on Criminal Justice, homicide rates spiked dramatically across 21 U.S. cities during the pandemic. In 2020, the average city homicide rate was 32% higher during the pandemic (March to October 2020), 42% higher during the summer (June to August 2020), and 34% higher during the fall (September and October 2020) than it was in 2019. Year-to-date (January to October 2020), the average city homicide rate was 29% higher in 2020 than it was in 2019. 

Fatal shootings by on-duty police officers in the U.S. also increased during 2020. According to the Washington Post’s Police Shootings Database, 1,021 people were shot and killed by police in 2020 as compared to the 999 people killed by police in 2019. With the exception of a slight decrease in 2016, fatal police shootings by on-duty officers in the U.S. have been steadily increasing since 2015. And while African-Americans account for only 13% of the U.S. population, they are killed by police at more than twice the rate of White Americans. 

Although it does not yet contain homicide data for 2020, The Federal Bureau of Investigation reports in its Crime Data Explorer that in 2019 there were 14,185 homicides. Of those victims, 78% were male, whereas only 21% were female. The overwhelming number of killers were also male (63%), with females making up only 8% of killers and offenders with unreported sex making up 27%. Regarding victim race, African-Americans comprised 54% of victims and White Amercans made up 42%. Finally, 42% of homicides were committed by people who knew the victim, whereas only 10% of homicides were committed by strangers (48% of relationships were unknown).