Experts point to a "perfect storm" of factors — but among them “it’s highly likely the affects of the pandemic are partially responsible."
- There has been an increase in mental health-related issues.
- The entire criminal justice system has been challenged in new ways, and the sectors that hold people accountable for their crimes have been severely impacted by Covid-19.
- Americans experienced massive job losses.
- In general, “Last year, everyday patterns of life broke down. Schools shut down. Young people were on their own. There was a widespread sense of a crisis and a surge in gun ownership. People stopped making their way to institutions that they know and where they spend their time. That type of destabilization is what creates the conditions for violence to emerge.”
I would not tell anyone to sit back and do nothing in response. Looking for constructive action, even at this very local level, is appropriate.
But probably emergency response is just going to have further unhappy duty before it, for a while, as broad conditions which formed over a year or more probably can't be reversed instantly even by those who have influence on broad policy.
Meanwhile, of course, the pandemic itself has killed more than 1700 people in Cuyahoga County, and put thousands in the hospital, and probably had long-term impacts which we may not understand for years.