Crime Rates Drop Across the Globe as Coronavirus Pandemic Keeps People Inside

Crime rates across the globe have dropped significantly as more people stay inside to avoid becoming infected with the coronavirus.

“In Chicago, one of America’s most violent cities, drug arrests have plummeted 42% in the weeks since the city shut down, compared with the same period last year,” according to the AP.

“Part of that decrease, some criminal lawyers say, is that drug dealers have no choice but to wait out the economic slump,” the article read.

March 26, police in Durham, England, reported that the area’s crime rate had dropped 20 percent with officers recording about 130 crimes per day as opposed to an average of 165 the week before.

“Some people rely on shoplifting to fund their drug habit. That’s harder as the shops are closed,” said Durham’s Acting Police and Crime Commissioner Stephen White.

Even though police in Toronto, Canada, recently saw a drop in major crimes such as assault and robbery, officers were busy “slapping charges on those finding novel ways to profit, scam a few days off work or flout public safety regulations,” the Toronto Star reported.

“We want to deter people from taking advantage of the situation for a few days off of work,” said Const. Kyle Villers, adding that in general, the police had their hands full.

“The situations themselves just seem to be changing,” he noted.

In Latin America, crime has sunk to levels not seen in decades.

“Killings are down, and the gangsters aren’t harassing so much,” said 47-year-old Eduardo Perdomo, who is a construction worker in San Salvador, El Salvador.

Last month, the country reported an average of two killings per day, which was down from a peak of 600 a day a few years prior.

“I think they’re afraid of catching the virus, and they aren’t going out,” Perdomo stated.

In California, San Jose Police Chief Eddie Garcia said he hoped the downward trend would continue once the pandemic is over but added that his officers were preparing for the worst.

“The longer we’re in a lockdown, the more we’re playing with fire,” he concluded.