evidence: The Major Cities Police Association's Violent Crime Survey found double-digit declines in homicide across nearly 70 of America's largest cities in 2023 compared 2022. [...] Boyce said while overall crime has fallen substantially in the past two years, it is still higher than it was in 2019 before homicides soared 30% in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic that shut down criminal courts and prompted a reduction in prison and jail populations throughout the country to curb the virus. It was also a time when the George Floyd police custody killing in Minnesota triggered protests and demands to defund police agencies.