WASHINGTON – A new report from the Alliance for Safety and Justice (ASJ) reveals a violent side of America’s housing crisis: along with major financial strain caused by rising rents and inflation renters are far more likely to become victims of violence. Renters are three-times more likely to suffer aggravated assault, robbery, rape and sexual assault than Americans in owner-occupied housing. The disparity persists across income levels, racial and ethnic groups, and age, according to analyses of federal data released today by ASJ.

The nation has been watching the state of Illinois struggle with an increase in prison expenditures, an increase in violence in Chicago, and an increase in the number of victims needing treatment and trauma recovery.