Murders across 22 major U.S. cities increased 44% in 2021 compared to 2019 and 5% compared to 2020, an updated study shows.

There were 218 more murders in the 22 cities in 2021 — a 44% increase compared to 2019, representing nearly 1,300 additional lives lost since three years ago, according to updated findings from the Council on Criminal Justice (CCJ), a nonpartisan criminal justice policy organization.

CCJ’s study points to a continuing upward trend in violent crime that began at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, though the organization noted that homicide increases have slowed since then.