Pandemic-induced fear, economic hardship, domestic discord, racial strife and an influx of guns helped propel the urban homicide rate by a record amount last year, a new report says.

Why it matters: A drumbeat of dire reports about rising crime has left city dwellers justifiably scared — and policy makers should be addressing the pandemic and violent crime at the same time, the report’s authors say.

• Anti-violence programs should be a priority, according to the report released by Arnold Ventures — a philanthropy focused on solving societal problems — and the National Commission on COVID-19 and Criminal Justice.
• Relations between communities and the police should be mended, the authors say,and street outreach workers should be deployed to help defuse tensions.

Driving the news: “In a sample of 34 cities, homicide rates were almost 30% higher in 2020 than in 2019, a jump that claimed an additional 1,268 lives,” per the report.

• Prior to 2020, the biggest single-year increase in the murder rate was 12.7%, in 1968, the report said.
• While the three largest cities — New York, L.A. and Chicago — accounted for […]