WBFO Albany Correspondent Karen Dewitt reports
Assembly Republican Leader Will Barclay said the crime rate in major cities in New York increased in 2020, and that concerning trend is continuing in 2021.
“It seems like every morning we wake up to see another story about violence in our streets or a shooting where innocent victims are either killed or injured,” said Barclay, who added Democrats who lead the Legislature in Albany are “doing nothing” about it.
The rate of violent crimes is up nationally as well, though not as high as in earlier decades like the 1980s and 1990s.
Some political leaders and law enforcement officials have attributed the rise to increased societal tensions during the COVID-19 pandemic, the closure of key services that could discourage people from committing crimes, and a lack of adequate gun control laws.