Police in Clinton, Louisiana have arrested two individuals who they say are members of a four-man local burglary ring. 

According to Baton Rouge's WAFB 9, Twondorian Muse and Zhylen Beverly, both 20 years old, were each charged with three counts of burglary and one count of theft of a firearm.

What's more, Muse was also charged with possession of a controlled substance. He and Beverly are alleged to have committed the crimes in conjunction with two accomplices this past Thursday between 3:00 a.m. and 4:30 a.m. around Oak Drive and Taylor Street.

They are said to have targeted unlocked vehicles and storage sheds. Police Chief Ned Davis Jr. was quoted as saying that residents should remain vigilant and keep their belongings secured.

Crime up across the country

Disorder is far from being confined to Clinton, with Fox News reporting in May that violent crime has been on an upswing over the past couple of years.

New York City has seen the biggest jump, with incidents of violent crime having surged by over 40 percent since 2021.

The Manhattan Institute’s Heather Mac Donald has argued that criminals have grown bolder in the wake of riots over George Floyd's death as law enforcement has become less proactive.

"George Floyd’s death at the hands of Minneapolis police in late May was justly condemned — but the event has now spurred an outpouring of contempt against the pillars of law and order that has no precedent in American history," Fox News quoted her as saying.

Death certificate data suggests murder rate higher than reported

Jim Agresti serves as president and founder of a nonprofit research institute called Just Facts, and he told Fox News last month that the consequences will be dire if current crime trends continue.

Agresti's organization used death certificates to argue that the FBI's murders tally of 14,677 killings in 2021 was far too low.

Fox News noted that "nearly 40% of police departments nationwide did not provide complete data on 2021 crime to the FBI by the March deadline of this year," meaning official statistics are incomplete.

Just Facts cited death certificate statistics collected by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to come up with a total of  24,493 murders in 2021.

"Starting with data from death certificates and removing justifiable homicides provides a more reliable estimate of murders," the group's study explained. However, Fox News pointed out how in its annual report, the FBI acknowledged that some estimates put the total number of murders in 2021 at 24,600.

"That means if you're in the United States, you live here, you're born and you spend your life here, your odds of your life ending by murder are one in 179 over your life," Agresti said.