An alternative theory to explain America’s murder spike in 2020

You might call it a new golden age. America’s economy is strong, overdose deaths are falling and crime rates are down. For the second consecutive year murders in America have plummeted. The surge in violence in 2020, which was the deadliest year in over two decades, may now seem like a distant memory to some. Yet for criminologists and policymakers the question of what caused that spike in the first place remains unanswered.