Murders in the US rose 10.8% last year, the biggest single-year percentage jump since 1971, according to data released Monday by the FBI. The rising violence was driven by an increase in the murders of black men, and by an increase in the number of gun murders. Crime trend experts said they expected politicians to overplay the significance of the new numbers and to react with “hysteria”. Local residents were not optimistic that a debate over a national murder increase would make them safer. “The percentage of violent crime in America had the largest single-year increase in 14 years.”The next year, murders resumed a downward trend.

Source: The Guardian September 26, 2016 13:14 UTC