Many rural counties are still reeling from pandemic-driven increases in murder and other violent crimes

A Searcy, Ark., cemetery. In 10 weeks, six people were killed in White County. (Photo: Andrea Morales, Wall Street Journal) 

Murder rates in rural America "have soared during the pandemic," report Dan Frosch, Kris Maher and Zusha Elinson of The Wall Street Journal. Rebecca McCoy, prosecutor in White County, Arkansas, told the newspaper, “It was like people lost their ever-lovin’ minds.” The county hadn't had a homicide in two years when the pandemic began; in 10 weeks, it had six; by the end of 2020, it had 11.

Homicide rates in non-metropolitan counties rose 25 percent, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "It was the largest rural increase since the agency began tracking such data in 1999," the Journal reports. "The rise came close to the 30% spike in homicide rates in metropolitan areas in 2020. The CDC hasn’t analyzed 2021 homicide data yet. In some rural counties, murder rates remained high last year, while in others they have begun to recede along with Covid, data from local law-enforcement agencies shows." But the courts remain burdened: "Small-town prosecutors, unaccustomed to handling numerous homicides cases, find themselves overwhelmed with them."

What drove the increase? Local officials "speculate that the breakdown of deeply rooted social connections that bind together many small communities, coupled with the stress of the pandemic, played a role," the Journal reports. "Pastors point to the suspension of rituals such as in-person church services, town gatherings and everyday exchanges between neighbors. Such interactions can serve as guardrails, helping to prevent conflicts from turning violent."

Also, The psychological and financial stress due to isolation and job loss were especially pronounced in remote areas, where social services were limited even before Covid-19 struck, local leaders say. As the pandemic took hold in the spring of 2020, fights between family members, acquaintances and even strangers escalated more frequently into deadly confrontations, authorities in some rural counties said."

And that kind of violence is harder to prevent, said Brian Wallace, sheriff of Marion County, South Carolina: “It’s not like you got gang members dealing drugs, and you can get boots on the ground, and undercover buys and prosecutions.” The Journal story has many examples of specific cases.