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Everyone talks about lead as the cause of the great violence decline, and I do think it was a big factor. But I think there was something else, too - changes in the way police interacted with the public.
See this thread about Oakland for an example:
See this thread about Oakland for an example:
In the few cities like St. Louis and Baltimore where crime remains historically high, you hear lots of stories like this:
bbc.com/news/world-us-…
bbc.com/news/world-us-…
And Oakland is not an isolated example. When you hear success stories of cities that saw abrupt rapid drops in violence, you usually hear stories of police reforms: citylab.com/equity/2018/01…
There are some systematic studies of the impacts of this sort of police reform:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation…
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation…
Basically, these examples suggest that when a police department shifts from thinking that black people (and poor people) are a menace to be contained, and start thinking of them as citizens to be protected, the result is a far more peaceful society.
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