U.S. crime rise related to high inflation: report

People walk across a street in Washington, D.C., the United States, Nov. 4, 2022. (Xinhua/Liu Jie)

Given the research on the relationship between inflation and crime, recent rising crime rates could be attributed to high inflation, says The Hill.

NEW YORK, Nov. 8 (Xinhua) -- The pain caused by inflation in the United States does not stop at Americans' wallets, and inflation could be at least partially responsible for a separate unwelcomed increase: violent crime, according to a recent report of The Hill.

"After decades of steady declines, violent crime began increasing in the mid 2010s, spiking in 2020, around the time inflation began to increase," said the report.

The Major Cities Chiefs Association observed a rising trend in its 2022 midyear survey, finding a 4.2 percent increase in violent crime in the first half of 2022. Meanwhile, murder rates in rural communities soared during the height of the pandemic, the report said.

Given the research on the relationship between inflation and crime, recent rising crime rates could be attributed to high inflation, according to the report.

Study after study has shown a strong positive relationship between rising inflation and rising acquisitive crime -- that is, illegal acts committed for monetary gain, such as theft and property crimes, it added.