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Arizona crime rates are leveling out after a COVID-19-fueled spike

Violent crime rates across America spiked during the pandemic.

Social and economic instability, stay-at-home orders and societal unrest caused us to see high rates of homicides, domestic violence and robberies go up. 

Things are starting to level out — though crime rates still largely sit above 2019 levels when we had been seeing a decades-long decline in most kinds of crime. 

In Arizona, the overall picture looks pretty good, according to Charles Katz, director of the Center for Violence Prevention and Community Safety at Arizona State University. The show spoke with him more about these trends.

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Lauren Gilger, host of KJZZ's The Show, is an award-winning journalist whose work has impacted communities large and small, exposing injustices and giving a voice to the voiceless and marginalized.