Day by day the novel coronavirus seems to be impacting world in both positive and negative ways. Crime rates in Chicago, deemed one of the most violent cities see a drop in crime rate as most of them are home giving burglars no opportunities. The trend was seen in many other places too.
Drug arrests have fallen by 42 percent since the coronavirus shutdown, in comparison to the same period last year. A part of this slump, as criminal lawyers say is due to the helplessness of the drug dealers waiting for the crisis to get over, reported Associated Press.
Chicago's crimes reduced by 10%
Also, Chicago's crimes reduced by 10 percent after COVID-19 pandemic, which reflected the global trend of decreasing crime rates after mitigation measures to contain the virus. Regions that previously recorded high levels of violence reported fewer killings and robberies.
Back in 1990, New York City saw a historic crime decline of 40 percent over a three year period. But coronavirus has put drop-off's to shame, as it took only weeks to get to reach there. However, law officials worry about a surge in domestic violence going unreported. In Latin America, crimes are decades low. The report said that there were only two killings per day in El Salvador last month that stood in contrast with 600 killings per day some years back.
Why the decrease?
There are chances of criminals are also getting infected by the coronavirus, that too, more likely in the epicentre of the pandemic. This year's crime rates in Los Angeles were unchanged until March 15, after which it dropped by 30 percent. In the case of New York, crimes such as murder, rape, car theft, assault and grand larceny dropped by 12 percent.
Joe Giacalone, teaching at John Jay College of Criminal Justice put it simply that "Most burglars wait for you to leave the house," also there were fewer opportunities for criminals to take advantage, he added. Out of 36,000 officers in the NYPD more than 2,000 were tested positive for COVID-19, said the report.
Other places
Crime rates fell in Peru by 84 percent in March. South Africa's, Police Minister Bheki Cele told that rapes reported got down to 101 from 700 compared to the same period last year, while murders fell from 326 to 94. Many of the dealers would find alternate ways like online and on darknet stores as poverty strikes them too.
