Coronavirus And Crime-Violence And Burglaries Up In Some Cities

Highlights

For the moment, crime during the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic seems moderate or declining. Law enforcement agencies throughout the world, however, are expressing concern.

Reports of commercial property burglaries increased 75 percent in New York City.

“I think that for our most violent offenders, this pandemic has not changed their behavior at all,” said D.C. Police Chief Peter Newsham.

“New York City-Burglaries of grocery stores and bodegas rose 400% annually in the March 12–31 period. Thefts at restaurants nearly doubled in the same period.

“Criminals are just interested in one question: ‘how can I make more money?”

Mexico: A major shootout between rival drug gangs has killed 19 people.

Author 

Leonard Adam Sipes, Jr.

Retired federal senior spokesperson. Thirty-five years of award-winning public relations for national and state criminal justice agencies. Interviewed multiple times by every national news outlet. Former Senior Specialist for Crime Prevention for the Department of Justice’s clearinghouse. Former Director of Information Services, National Crime Prevention Council. Former Adjunct Associate Professor of criminology and public affairs-University of Maryland, University College. Former advisor to presidential and gubernatorial campaigns. Former advisor to the “McGruff-Take a Bite Out of Crime” national media campaign. Certificate of Advanced Study-Johns Hopkins University. Aspiring drummer.

Facebook Quotes

It’s not the Coronavirus that’s scary. It’s how brainwashed & easily manipulated the masses of people can become!

We are dealing with two contagions — the virus itself and the emotions it generates.

Editor’s Note

All citations are direct quotes, possibly rearranged for the sake of brevity or to include a name of a city.

UK and foreign media outlets use UK and foreign spellings.

Article

Every police administrator in the country and beyond is pondering an appropriate response to the Coronavirus pandemic. Crime is moderate or declining “at the moment” for many cities. Three out of four Americans are under some form of a state or local lockdown.

Concern is expressed, however, regarding the potential for violence, political extremism, fraud, domestic violence, child abuse, property crime, retail burglary, looting, and theft.

What’s below is an overview of media coverage of national and international crime and responses.

Crime Isn’t Going Up For Most Cities

Probably the most authoritative report comes from USA Today after analyzing data from fifty-three law enforcement agencies. Crime is down. So are traffic stops. Domestic violence is rising along with noise complaints, USA Today.

Reports from around the country (and the world) indicate that crime isn’t going up for most (not all) places: Dallas, Portland OR, Philadelphia, Sacramento, San Francisco, Southern California, Bangor ME, New Mexico, Business Insider (Crime down in NY and LA but crime up in Chicago), Georiga, Boston and Los Angeles.

From The Crime Report, Serious crimes in New York City were down last week compared with a year ago, except for a 50 percent increase in car thefts. In Chicago, both violent and property crime are slightly below normal levels. In Dallas, violent and property crimes fell last week compared with the previous week. Police chiefs are directing officers not to arrest people for minor offenses and instead cite and release them, the Wall Street Journal reports. The Journal states that arrests are down in cities throughout the country.

But There Is Concern Throughout The World

From The Marshall Project:  Cops across the United States are struggling to maintain law and order as desperate looters and defiant partiers continue to ignore shelter-in-place orders given by their local governments. Outlets report looting in all forms as small businesses seek innovative ways to protect their possessions and as local governments look to work with private companies to create potential air patrol options. Violent crime has ticked upward in Detroit, just as police there are suffering from a rash of sickouts due to COVID-19. DETROIT NEWS.

Officials in Chicago, Illinois, furious about consistent gun violence during the pandemic, plead with residents to stop shooting one another, CHICAGO TRIBUNE.

The news of increased looting comes as police departments across the country struggle to keep their own officers safe – in New York City, one in six officers is out sick. Police in Santa Cruz, California, have arrested five who have done attempted robberies on businesses in the area. Also on Friday, officers with the New York Police Department arrested a masked suspect who looted Tylenol and cash from a deli in Brooklyn, Daily Mail-UK.

Shuttered stores from Boston’s Newbury St. to NYC’s SoHo to Chicago’s Magnificent Mile boarded up their windows in recent weeks. All the goods they’re holding are sitting Dolces for thieves—or so high-end retailers seem to think. In NYC, reports of commercial property burglaries increased 75% annually in the 19-day period ending March 31, per NYPD data. But the Bling Ring isn’t out of retirement. Thefts actually spiked at essential establishments like grocery stores and restaurants. Burglaries of grocery stores and bodegas rose 400% annually in the March 12–31 period. Thefts at restaurants nearly doubled in the same period. Most thieves pilfered cash, electronics, and consumables like food and alcohol—not luxury handbags, Morning Brew .

Sadly, even once the virus has burned itself out in Gotham, there’s another epidemic on the way, at least according to one law enforcement official with plenty of experience in the matter, Hot Air.

New York City, under a coronavirus lockdown, saw small increases in murders and burglaries in the past week, while overall crime dropped. The city saw five murders during the week that ended on Sunday, up from one the week before, according to data released by the NYPD. There were also 204 burglaries, up from 173, or 18 percent, from the previous week, the department reported in the weekly updates made on the department’s CompStat 2.0 website, Daily Mail-UK.

In the rush to release defendants from jail, there was no plan regarding what to do with habitual criminals, according to Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo, who noted that burglaries in the city had spiked 20 percent as of April 2. Other areas have experienced similar results, with the Wall Street Journal noting that reports of crimes against businesses are up by 75 percent in New York City since the coronavirus shutdown.

From The Crime Report: Fewer people in Washington, D.C., are being robbed, but more are being assaulted as law-abiding citizens and criminals alike adjust to empty streets, closed shops and altered routines that are throwing established crime patterns into disarray, reports the Washington Post. Property crime is down 27 percent, though some neighborhoods are seeing surges in break-ins targeting parked vehicles. The number of robberies has plummeted by more than a third. Violent crime has gone down 16 percent since early March, when residents began self-isolating. Yet assaults, including shootings, are up. The number of homicides is keeping pace with 2019, which ended with a decade-high. “I think that for our most violent offenders, this pandemic has not changed their behavior at all,” said Police Chief Peter Newsham.

In Detroit, there have been 67 homicides this year, a 68 percent increase over this time last year, and 173 nonfatal shootings, up 37 percent, reports the Detroit News.

Shootings are up for March in Jacksonville, news4jax.

Crime is up in St. Louis, KSDK.

There are still more people dying in Baltimore from gunshot wounds than the coronavirus pandemic, a trend that “social distancing” hasn’t slowed down very much. It’s gotten so bad that the mayor felt compelled to beg the gangs to stop shooting people so they can save hospital beds for the COVID-19 patients.

As Baltimore City leaders help combat the coronavirus, there’s concern over another crisis that appears to have a grip on the city – crime. The gun violence is being called an epidemic amid a pandemic, with the elderly most at risk, FoxBaltimore.

Private businesses and schools may be shut down, but the gang bangers still out there murdering each other with abandon. The body count in Baltimore from gang warfare is still leaving the coronavirus in the dust. (Baltimore Sun).

With billions of people under lockdown in their homes and borders shut, police chiefs say criminals are finding it hard to make money out of “traditional” activities like burglary and drug smuggling. Instead they are preying on people’s fears of the COVID-19 pandemic to sell them substandard protective goods or trick people out of their cash online, warned Europe’s police agency Europol. “Criminals are just interested in one question: ‘how can I make more money?’,” International Business Times.

However, Mr Thomas warned police forces should expect the violence to resume again once the measures are lifted. He compared the situation to the Premier League football season, adding: “It’s just been put on hold.” “The violence will start up again because these young people, once they’ve been violated, they never forget it. “I spoke to a gang member from Lambeth and he said in relation to a rivalry – ‘we ain’t letting that go’,” Sky News.

…..even as the Covid-19 pandemic unfolds, crime in Philadelphia has increased overall, despite a slight dip during the city’s first full week of shutdowns, City Journal.

There are endless media reports of citizens buying guns and ammunition. People are uncertain as to what’s happening. Uncertainty breeds fear. Fear prompts overreaction.

Sick Cops And Correctional Officers

In a department of about 36,000 sworn officers, 7,096 — or 19.6% of the uniformed workforce — were out sick on Friday, according to data issued by the NYPD. Some 2,314 uniformed members and 453 civilian employees have tested positive for Covid-19, and 19 employees have lost their lives as a result of the virus, CNN.

From The Marshall Project: The number of LAPD employees who have tested positive for COVID-19 rises. So does the number of officers no longer in quarantine. LOS ANGELES TIMES. New Jersey will allow police recruits, retired officers, to fill gaps left by cops sick or in quarantine. NORTH JERSEY.COM Positive COVID-19 cases continue to rise within the NYPD. STATEN ISLAND ADVANCE.

There are dozens of media reports documenting the impact of Coronavirus infected police and correctional officers.

Some in Cities Aren’t Complying With Social Distancing

There are a variety of media reports suggesting that some people in cities are not complying with social distancing orders requiring police action, NJ.Com.

Drones

Social distancing drones now are in use around the country as law enforcement officials seek ways to enforce stay-at-home orders. NEW YORK MAGAZINE

Domestic Violence and Child Abuse

U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres has urged “peace at home” and called for governments to prioritize safeguards against domestic violence in their COVID-19 response plans, as he warned that calls to support services have surged in some countries, Forbes.

Canada

There are reports of increasing burglaries and domestic violence in Canadian cities but overall crime is down, National Post.

Mexico

A major shootout between rival drug gangs has killed 19 people in the northern Mexico border state of Chihuahua, officials say. The state prosecutors’ office said on Saturday that 18 corpses, two grenades, vehicles and guns were found at the scene of the clash in the hamlet of Chuchuichupa the township of Madera, The Guardian-UK.

A quarantine, with strict restraining measures, would result in fewer people in the streets, hence fewer robberies, probably fewer murders and burglaries; but when the social isolation ends, violence will undoubtedly return, Mexico-InternationalBusinessTimes.

El Salvador-Gangs Enforcing Social Distancing

Increasing Fraud

As the country grapples with the burgeoning coronavirus pandemic, cybersecurity experts are warning that employees working from home are increasingly being targeted by aggressive cyber criminals trying to capitalize on their unfamiliarity with remote work.

The dark web is buzzing with coronavirus-related activity, experts said, with hackers selling other hackers COVID-19 scam “kits” complete with fraudulent email templates to target workers at home, ABC News.

Cybercriminals are disguising dangerous malware as important Google Chrome security updates – and they’re spreading it through news sites. The malware was first spotted by analysts at antivirus company Doctor Web. According to Doctor Web, a number of websites that use the WordPress CMS platform have been hacked and embedded with some pretty dodgy JavaScript code, Trusted Reviews

Drug Traffickers Having Problems With Distribution

Jesús is a drug trafficker allied with the Sinaloa cartel. Last week, he and other traffickers received a WhatsApp message from the cartel’s top boss, Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, who declared that wholesale prices were going to increase for methamphetamine.

“Mayo sent this announcement saying, ‘Everyone is going to sell a pound of crystal for 15,000 pesos ($600) from now on because of the shortage. Before that, it was 2,500 pesos ($100),” said Jesús, who spoke on condition of anonymity. “The message also said, ‘If you don’t obey, pay attention to the consequences.’ ”The stated reason for the sixfold price hike is the novel coronavirus pandemic. The cartel supply chain is complex and international.

The raw chemical ingredients used for manufacturing methamphetamine and fentanyl are mainly sourced from China, the epicentre of the outbreak. In a recent interview with VICE News, Jesús said his “cooks” were already running low on some of the essential materials used in the drug manufacturing process, VICE.

The Sicilian mafia and the Calabria-based Ndrangheta smuggle drugs on cargo vessels but with lockdowns across Europe and police monitoring people’s movements, it has become harder to get them picked up at the other end, said the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project. Meanwhile, New York’s five Mafia crime families are said to be suffering the biggest “hit” in their bloody histories, Express-UK.

A disruption in the world’s illegal drug market will have a profound effect on supply and price and could lead to a rise in crime. The price of drugs is on the rise as the Government’s coronavirus lockdown measures have lead to fewer dealers selling drugs on the street, Standard-UK.

Drug Treatment Compromised 

Helping patients stay in recovery from opioid addiction never was easy, and the coronavirus crisis is making it harder. Addiction treatment clinics are expanding hours, hiring staff to take people’s temperatures, providing home delivery and curbside pickup for medication, and revamping procedures to limit human contact, reports Stateline. 

Without more money, the cost of retooling services could put some providers out of business. At West Midtown Medical Group, a Manhattan methadone clinic, the business of providing 900 patients a daily cup of lifesaving medicine has been upended. Allegra Schorr, a clinic owner, says, “We’re trying to keep our patients in treatment and protect them from overdose. It’s a balancing act, and it’s extremely challenging.”

The Independent UK-Criminals Shifting Tactics 

The National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) have said there have been thefts of oxygen canisters from hospitals and raids on food banks. Gangs have been targeting older people at home, appearing with official looking badges to take money to do their shopping, and then disappearing. There have also been a spate of reports of reports of people knocking on doors to sell fake hand sanitiser, face masks and even testing kits, IndependentUK.

Organized Crime 

But before you shed any tears for the earth’s mobsters, their stock market is climbing again, as new opportunities are emerging, thanks to the pandemic—opportunities that may even be long-term. Think of mafia groups as viruses themselves, always aggressively adapting and morphing to infect societies for power and profit, Forbes.

Violent Extremists-Hate Crimes 

There are concerns regarding attacks on Asian Americans, The Blaze.

A Department of Homeland Security memo sent to law enforcement officials around the country warns that violent extremists could seek to take advantage of the COVID-19 pandemic by carrying out attacks against the U.S.

“Violent extremists probably are seeking to exploit public fears associated with the spread of COVID-19 to incite violence, intimidate targets and promote their ideologies, and we assess these efforts will intensify in the coming months,” according to the intelligence bulletin, compiled by the agency’s Counterterrorism Mission Center and Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Office, ABC News.

Racist extremist groups, including neo-Nazis and other white supremacists, are encouraging members who contract novel coronavirus disease to spread the contagion to cops and Jews, according to intelligence gathered by the FBI.

In an alert obtained by ABC News, the FBI’s New York office reports that “members of extremist groups are encouraging one another to spread the virus, if contracted, through bodily fluids and personal interactions,” ABC News.

Federal counterterrorism officials say the pandemic might prompt would-be terrorists to expedite their plans or choose health-care targets, POLITICO.

The city has coronavirus hate-crime fever, NYPD data shows. Crime stats released Thursday show a spike in attacks against perceived carriers of the COVID-19 bug. The data shows there have been 23 hate crimes against victim’s whose protected category is classified as “other” so far this year — a 475-percent increase from the 4 reported over the same period last year. The crimes are categorized that way even though a majority of victims are Asian, officials said, New York Post.

US Prisons

There are endless stories from TheMarshallProject documenting the release of jail and prison inmates regarding concerns over infection and the stability of US correctional facilities.

From The Crime Report, Coronavirus-fueled tensions inside prisons and jails are boiling over into riots, standoffs and hunger strikes, the Wall Street Journal reports. Officers at a Washington state penitentiary fired nonlethal rounds and used pepper spray to break up a demonstration of more than 100 inmates Wednesday night after six inmates tested positive there, officials said. At Oakdale federal prison in Louisiana, a hot spot for the COVID-19 crisis behind bars, at least one inmate was sprayed and handcuffed last night after previously sick inmates were put back in with the general population, inmates and guards said. Immigrants protesting unhygienic conditions in federal custody have staged hunger strikes and are defying guards, advocates said. In the federal prison system with nearly 175,000 inmates, 253 inmates and 85 staff have tested positive, and eight prisoners have died. The Butner prison complex in North Carolina has 76 cases between staff and inmates, the largest outbreak in federal prisons, says the Raleigh News & Observer.

International Prisons 

From The Crime Report, conditions worldwide during the coronavirus outbreak have caused tensions and unrest from Latin America to Europe to the Middle East, the Washington Post reports. Outside the walls, “It’s a very dark situation for the families,” said Mona Seif, an Egyptian activist whose brother is jailed at Cairo’s notorious Tora prison. China and South Korea have reported large outbreaks in their prisons. China has had 806 cases in five prisons across three provinces. Turkey is seeking to fast-track a plan to release as many as 100,000 inmates from overcrowded facilities, joining Iran and other countries that have freed some prisoners in response to the pandemic.

Elsewhere, anger over restrictive measures and anxiety about coronavirus have led to violence. In Colombia last weekend, nearly two dozen people died in riots that swept the prison system as inmates protested inadequate safeguards. In Italy, riots erupted in almost 50 prisons this month, leaving 13 inmates dead and 59 guards injured. In the Middle East, where hundreds of thousands of people have been rounded up in recent years in response to political uprisings, terrorism and the growth of conservative Islam, many prisoners are held in densely populated facilities that lack hygienic conditions and sunlight, leaving them susceptible to disease and infections.

Holding Charged Offenders 

Per The Crime Report and the Washington Post, Justice Department scenarios to hold inmates longer than normal because of delayed court hearings amid the coronavirus epidemic are being considered.  Department spokeswoman Kerri Kupec said, “Courts are closing and grand juries are not meeting. That means prosecutors may not be able to indict criminals before a statute of limitations expires, or dangerous criminals who have been arrested may be released because of time limits. Criminals should not be able to avoid justice because of a public health emergency.”

Help From The Department Of Justice

Department of Justice Makes $850 Million Available to Help Public Safety Agencies Address COVID-19 Pandemic.

The solicitation, posted by the Bureau of Justice Assistance, within the Justice Department’s Office of Justice Programs (OJP), will remain open for at least 60 days and be extended as necessary. For more information about the Coronavirus Emergency Supplemental Funding program, visit https://bja.ojp.gov/funding/opportunities/bja-2020-18553.

More Assistance from DOJ

…the COPS Office Collaborative Reform Initiative for Technical Assistance Center (CRI-TAC) is rapidly responding to the needs of the field. Since the launch of the COVID-19 Library of Resources, we have uploaded more than 110 resources to the searchable directory. This library of agency policies, standard operating procedures, fact sheets, press releases, special orders, training documents, and other COVID-19–related materials allows law enforcement to share important guidance with one another on issues such as risk mitigation, communication, and officer safety. We encourage you to check the COVID-19 Library of Resources regularly to find resources by the field, for the field. If you have a resource you want to share with the field, email covid19@theiacp.org.

If you have a direct technical assistance need as a result of COVID-19, please reach out to CRI-TAC. CRI-TAC can offer short-term, remote technical assistance for agencies that need expert assistance from others in the field.

Increasing Violence Since 2015

Violent crime increased considerably since 2015 per the Bureau of Justice Statistics (USDOJ), Gallup and the Major Cities Chief Association.  The FBI recorded small decreases in reported crime in 2018 and the first half of 2019, Violent Crime.

Before any of this happened, there were endless media reports of rising violence in cities throughout the country. There are cities with major crime problems, Most Dangerous Cities.

Officials in high crime cities are the most concerned regarding COVID-19 and disorder.

Conclusions

Law enforcement’s response to the uncertainty of the Coronavirus epidemic and the fear most Americans have during times of unparalleled stress will be a challenge for every police and correctional administrator. Crime is mostly decreasing with pockets of concern.

Possibly the biggest issue is rising illicit drug prices or availability due to distribution problems and compromised or disappearing drug treatment. With a mostly addicted criminal population, that could be a major concern for all forms of crime, including domestic violence and child abuse.

Police executives and officers have to make adjustments. Everyone understands that it can’t be business as usual. Communication strategies are key elements of the response.

Previous Coronavirus-COVID-19 Articles

Coronavirus Updates-Coughing On Cops-Interrupted Drugs-Testing Meth-Don’t Commit Crime-Help From DOJ

Coronavirus And Crime-Looting-Drug Crisis-Foreign Prisons Erupting

Coronavirus-Violence And Crime Will Undoubtedly Return

Coronavirus Jails And Prisons-Will Correctional Officers Stay?

The Coronavirus, Crime And Law Enforcement Responses

The Coronavirus, Law Enforcement, Corrections And Crime

Corona Virus and Emergency Response

Violent Crime Beats Coronavirus As The Number One Issue

See More

See more articles on crime and justice at Crime in America.

Most Dangerous Cities/States/Countries at Most Dangerous Cities.

US Crime Rates at Nationwide Crime Rates.

National Offender Recidivism Rates at Offender Recidivism.

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