(NewsNation) — A new study by WalletHub has shown murder rates in big cities in the United States have soared more than 10% in the past two years, with the top five cities being home to Democratic mayors with soft-on-crime policies.
The study found that Memphis, New Orleans, Richmond, Virginia, Washington D.C. and Detroit have the highest murder rates, with Philadelphia, Atlanta, and Kansas City, Missouri, also on the list.
NewsNation national correspondent Brian Entin joined “On Balance With Leland Vittert” to discuss visiting many of these cities firsthand to report on crime.
Entin said the numbers from the study do not give a full picture of the situation in these cities.
Entin recounted his experiences in Kansas City, Missouri, where he witnessed a police chase involving an armed man, several drug overdoses, and a person shot twice in front of a house.
In Atlanta, Entin observed a similar scene, where he witnessed a pit maneuver successfully used by the Georgia State Patrol to stop a suspect.
Entin also reported on his experiences in Philadelphia’s Kensington neighborhood, “where almost every block has a memorial for gunshot victims.” He walked around with a community activist who carries a tourniquet to help gunshot victims, noting that shootings are a common occurrence in the area.
Entin’s reporting highlights the challenges faced by police officers in these cities, who are often dealing with low manpower and a high volume of calls.
“Morale is definitely something that is a big issue here,” a Kansas City police officer told Entin during a ride-along. “Just because with low manpower not having you know enough officers out here and you have officers that are, you know, going from call to call to call and it wears on these officers.”
Watch the full interview with Brian Entin in the video player at the top of the page.