Miami police chief reported recently that violent crime has declined since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. For many decades now, Miami has been considered the "cocaine-fueled murder capital" of America.

However, the so-called Magic City is now regarded as a much different place. Indeed, like any major metropolis, Miami still has several dangerous neighborhoods, and it is never unheard of for any innocent individual to get captured "in the gangland crossfire."

But then, COVID-19 occurred in town. This pandemic has managed to seemed to dictate the police officers, as well as the determined prosecutors, have failed to do in many decades, and that is to stop or put an end to violence.


6 Weeks of No Homicide

Based on reports, the city had just gone six weeks straight of no homicide. This was the first time it happened since 1957. Unfortunately, that streak was broken on April 12 after someone was reportedly murdered.

In connection to this, the top cop of Miami has expressed concern that the figures "may not be telling the entire story." Chief Jorge Colina, in an interview with the New York Times, said he is worried about the child abuse and domestic violence that were not reported.

Additionally, the Miami Herald also points out that the colorful picture is not representing the rest of the Miami-Date County." The newspaper reported, there has been an increase of 33 percent in murders since March 17 when county Mayor Carlos Gimenez released a stay-at-home order.


COVID-19 Lockdowns Not Cooling Off Murders in the Entire County

COVID-19 lockdown has not cooled off killings in Miami-Dade, aside from one key city. The nationwide lockdown may be advantageous in slowing the spread of this pandemic. Still, it seems to have had just minimal effect, according to a report from the Miami Herald, on people murdering each other.

According to the online media entity, there has been a small uptick in homicides this 2020 within Miami-Dade County. Records have shown more murders have been documented "over the same period this year in Hialeah," and in what's described as the unincorporated Miami-Dade, a place comprising about 50 percent of the 2.7-million population of the county.

This trend stayed steady, even following the order of Mayor Gimenez in most areas to close on March 17. From that date until on Thursday, 16 people had been reported killed in Miami-Dade. As earlier mentioned, this was an increase of 33 percent of homicides in a similar period last year.

A significant exception though, was the city of Miami. As noted for the first time in the New York Times on Wednesday, the city was reported to have had zero-murder for 55 days, the longest streak since 1957. Colina said it started the middle of February, long before the lockdown began.

The streak also reflects the continuing drop in murders in the city. Earlier on, specifically in 2018, for instance, the city recorded only 51 murders, its lowest number since 1967. And, this year, only 11 homicides were recorded in Miami, again, lower than the 14 recorded last year.


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