But the truth about crime — in New York and other urban centers — is complex. Overall crime remains at a generational low across the United States, despite the surge this summer in shootings and murders, criminologists say, and the underlying causes of the wave of gun violence are hard to pin down. Shooting incidents have also spiked to 955 so far this year, 87 percent more than during the same period last year. But the surge in violence has arrived amid a 2 percent drop in overall reports of all major crimes, the police say. That milestone was reached under Mayor Bill de Blasio, the Democrat whom both Mr. Lynch and Mr. Giuliani have blamed for the rise in crime.

Source: New York Times August 28, 2020 21:42 UTC