The 2015 UCRis finally out. This means we have real numbers on last year. And the numbers are not good. Homicide is up 10.8 percent. That’s biggest increase in 45 years. Don’t downplay it. I’ll talk about that in my next post, but first the boring roundup: Firearms were used in 71.5 percent, which is up from last year’s 67.9…
Tag: rising crime
Brennan Center: No need for “most Americans” to worry about more murders
The good people at the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law have assured us (pdf link to report): Reports of a national crime wave were premature and unfounded, and that “the average person in a large urban area is safer walking on the street today than he or she would have been at almost any time in…
It Depends What Your Definition of “Rose” Is
What’s your definition of “rose”? Leaving aside the one that “would smell as sweet,” mine is “goes up.” I ask because the headlinein the New York Times says: “Murder Rates Rose in a Quarter of the Nation’s 100 Largest Cities.” When you say homicides “rose” in 25 of 100 cities, you might think it didn’t rise in 75 cities. Since…
40 shooting victims and 672 arrests? “That’s ridiculous!”
CBS reports: At least 52 people were shot across [Chicago] over the weekend, including nine homicides. (“At least”? Has it got so bad that we can’t even keep track?) Chicago Police Supt. Eddie Johnson, talking about the 40 victims known to police, is “sick of it”: 672 arrests? That’s ridiculous! … There’s a certain segment of the community that is…
Is this what the Ferguson Effect looks like?
Take this fightat North Avenue Beach in Chicago. Seems like mostly a bunch of stupid frat bro’s, one wearing an SAE tank top. (“These people” also have problems.) Why does does this have to do with the Ferguson (or “Viral Video”) Effect? Well, if you’re looking for an example of how fear or negative publicity can impact policing and create…
Make misdemeanors great again!
Shoplifting has gotten a boost in California. From the AP: Shoplifting reports to the Los Angeles Police Department jumped by a quarter in the first year, according to statistics the department compiled for The Associated Press. The ballot measure also lowered penalties for forgery, fraud, petty theft and drug possession. … The increase in shoplifting reports set up a debate…
It’s in the papers, so it must be real
This shouldn’t be news to any reader here. I’ve been harping on this since at least last October. But now reality is official real because it’s in the papers: homicides are up. Now maybe we can focus on the how and why instead of denying reality? I wonder if all those so ideologically eager to call out “the myth of…
“Is the juice worth the squeeze?”
The FBI Director Comey says in the New York Times that: A “viral video effect” — with officers wary of confronting suspects for fear of ending up on a video — “could well be at the heart” of a spike in violent crime in some cities. “There’s a perception that police are less likely to do the marginal additional policing…
Who you gonna believe?
Who are you gonna believe: The Brennan Center for Justiceor your lying eyes? Crime is up. They and I have written about this before. Their conclusion: Americans continue to experience low crime rates. The average person in a large urban area is safer walking down the street today than he or she would have been at almost any time in…
“‘Walter Scott effect’: North Charleston traffic stops cut in half after shooting”
Worth reading for many reasons: http://www.postandcourier.com/article/20160402/PC16/160409955