Violent crime continued to rise across the U.S. last, according to an annual estimate the FBI released Wednesday.
Murders increased 4.3% last year, rising from 22,000 to 22,900, while rape instances rose as well. The FBI acknowledges that violent crime is at the very least matching the high levels seen in 2020, which surged nearly 30% over 2019.
Nevertheless, violent crime slipped slightly across the nation as a whole, falling 1% from 1,326,600 in 2020 to 1,313,200 in 2021.
Crimes against America's seniors also surged nearly 10% last year, the estimates say.
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Experts caution that the FBI's numbers are estimates, and the bureau recently changed its methods to adopt the National Incident Based Reporting System (NIBRS). While the NIBRS allows for far more detail in reported statistics, many police departments have failed to keep up with the change.
The FBI's report was expected to miss an estimated 2.1 million total crimes across the country in 2021 due to the methodology change, according to a report from The Marshall Project and Axios.
For instance, the FBI's estimates say carjackings rose 11.5% in 2021, but it likely rose more dramatically in reality due to cities like Philadelphia not fully reporting data.
The FBI release comes months after bureau deputy director Paul Abbate admitted that homicides and assaults were occurring at an "appalling rate" in April.
"We’re seeing a disturbing violent crime surge across the country. I know you’re seeing it too," Abbate said at the time. "There’s gun violence, homicides and aggravated assaults, and are all occurring at an appalling rate, not to mention hate crimes and the persistent threat posed by violent extremists."
