Many of America’s cities have seen an increase in crime in 2021. Overall, America’s murder rate was around 6.9 percent in 2021, which equates to 19,600 murders nationwide. Atlanta, Baton Rouge, and Portland are just a few cities that have seen record homicides. Houston has even been named the murder capital of America in 2022. A whopping 41 homicides have been reported through January 25th in Houston, Texas. So not only has there been an overall increase in crime: there has been an even bigger increase in violent crimes and homicides across the nation.

Many Americans are moving out of big cities because crime has spiked so suddenly. The Biden administration has been asked by the press to give an update on what they are going to do with crime. The White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki has said in response to the issue, “What the president has proposed is a significant plus-up of funding for local community policing programs.” The Biden administration has also expressed their focus on attacking gun violence. While the administration opposes defunding the police, they want to provide better training and education programs for local police stations to avoid more cases of police brutality.

With this recent crime surge, it is essential to be aware of your surroundings. The first step in staying safe is to keep an eye out for the people around you. Secondly, another crucial component in staying safe is never walking alone in the dark unless you are with a large group of people.

While the steps above will help avoid many life-threatening situations, There are many non-lethal self-defense weapons, such as pepper spray and personal alarms, that are essential for young women and men to carry if something were to occur. These weapons will give you enough time to get away from the assailant. Not only does the pepper spray burn, but it can also temporarily blind the assailant while the personal alarm has an ear-piercing noise that will scare them away. Another great alternative is to take self-defense classes. A self-defense course combined with the self-defense tools will make you even more prepared in an emergency.