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Miami Reports No Murders for 7 Weeks; First Time in 63 Years
The city of Miami has gone seven weeks without a murder for the first time in 63 years. This is mostly thanks to the coronavirus stay-at-home orders in place.
According to the Miami Police Department, the city did not report a homicide between February 17th and April 12th. The streak ended when they reported one on April 12th.
Fox News reported that according to Miami Police Chief Jorge Colina, the trend started in mid-February – before social distancing policies were in place. “The restrictions have reportedly led to a drop in other crimes in the area as well,” said the report.
Coronavirus lockdown hasn’t cooled off murders in Miami-Dade County, except in one key city: Miami. https://t.co/NAkLFe5e8B
— Frederic Thys (@fredthys) April 28, 2020
“It started in mid-February, well before anyone was locked down,” said Colina. “Why? Honestly, I don’t know. I’m just grateful it continues to go down the way it has.”
“We can say that it's due to our police high visibility, attributed with the pandemic and the Stay At Home order,” a Miami Police Department spokesperson said to CBS News.
The statistics, however, don’t account for unreported domestic violence and child abuse.
On the other hand, there has been an uptick in homicides in Miami-Dade County. According to Miami Herald, “the trend remained steady even after County Mayor Carlos Gimenez ordered most places of business to shut down on March 17. Since then and through Thursday, 16 people have been murdered in unincorporated Miami-Dade, a 33 percent increase over 12 homicides during the same time in 2019.”
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