John Pfaff was quoted in Voa News about current crime rates in Chicago.
Last year, the number of murders in Chicago jumped to 765 from 478 the year before, accounting for 22 percent of the overall increase in U.S. homicides. Half of the increase in Chicago came from just five neighborhoods in the city, said John Pfaff, a Fordham University law professor and statistician.
“There are five neighborhoods in Chicago with 9 percent of the city’s population that explains 10 percent of the national increase in murder,” Pfaff said.
Fresh wave of crime?
Pfaff questioned the notion that the country may be faced with a fresh wave of violent crime.
“It’s not that crime rose across the United States,” he said. “It is that very small pockets in a lot of places saw a rise in homicide and other crime.”
Pfaff said it is premature to say the FBI data suggests the start of a long-term uptick in violent crime.
“Could it be a trend? Absolutely,” he said. “But it certainly doesn’t confirm it’s a trend in one way or another.”
