Author, BLEEDING OUT. Founding Director, @VRC_UMD. Associate Research Professor, @UMDCriminology. Senior Fellow, @CouncilonCJ. Opinions, my own.
Oct 16, 2023 • 9 tweets • 2 min read
By now you probably know the big numbers: violent crime down 1.7% in 2022, murder down 6.1% for 2022 as compared to 2021. Here's some additional data from the FBI's new Crime in the Nation report, released today. Read on.
Other violent offenses: rape down 5.4%, aggravated assault down 1.1%, robbery up 1.3%. Property crime up 7.1%. No change in burglary. Larceny-theft up 7.8%. Motor vehicle theft up 10.9%.
May 13, 2023 • 8 tweets • 2 min read
As a former Manhattan ADA and current purple belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, I think Bragg made the right decision in charging Daniel Penny. Here's why.
Over almost ten years practicing BJJ, I have accidentally choked people unconscious in practice and in competition several times. You know it within seconds. Their body goes limp. They stop resisting. They become unresponsive.
Mar 26, 2023 • 14 tweets • 3 min read
This irresponsible article reflects a disturbing deepening of the hard left's opposition to anything related to law enforcement, no matter how urgent the problem or necessary the response. Read on. themarshallproject.org/2023/03/23/gun…
Murders have skyrocketed in the U.S. since the pandemic. Homicide rates are 34% higher in our nation's large cities than they were in 2019, and this is primarily due to escalating community gun violence. counciloncj.org/pandemic-socia…
Jan 24, 2023 • 8 tweets • 2 min read
My work focuses on community violence, which can actually be reduced significantly without changes to gun laws or regulations. But with the victims of #MontereyPark and #HalfMoonBay in our minds and hearts, let's not kid ourselves...
... all forms of gun violence - including suicides, accidents, domestic homicides, and mass shootings - would be easier to prevent with commonsense restrictions to accessing deadly firearms on the books.
Dec 11, 2022 • 5 tweets • 2 min read
A million years ago, Dave Chappelle did this bit about Black hostages. Hilarious, but it also spoke to how those in power view and value Black people.
As a former prosecutor, you might expect me to agree with with DOJ's "like for like" rule and oppose the trade of Bout for Griner. But in this particular case I don't and here's why. washingtonpost.com/national-secur…
Sep 12, 2022 • 4 tweets • 2 min read
Be sure to check out @DOJBJA's webinar series on implementing community-based violence intervention strategies. The first one is this Wednesday at 1pm ET. bja.ojp.gov/events/bringin…
This series uses BJA's CVI implementation checklist as a framework, which is also a useful resource for understanding how all the pieces can fit together at the local level. bja.ojp.gov/program/commun…
Aug 11, 2022 • 5 tweets • 2 min read
People look at crime and violence differently, as this survey shows. It's hard for the public to grasp, but there's a venn diagram between the two. fivethirtyeight.com/features/how-d…
For example, everyone thinks of homicides as crimes, but most don't see suicides that way, and suicides are the most common form of gun violence. As I've noted before, we don't have one gun violence problem here in the US... we have at least four.
Bill Russell was my favorite athlete, but he was also one of my favorite people. A thread. bostonglobe.com/2022/07/31/met…
Being from Boston, I've always loved Russell, but my admiration grew when I got a ticket to go see his number retired (again) in 1999. boston.com/sports/boston-…
Jul 1, 2022 • 13 tweets • 5 min read
Boston, my home town, has one of the lowest homicide rates in the country. Why?
10 years later, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) still makes a difference, according to this important study by @cblatts and others. This is great news for the anti-violence field. Read on. vox.com/future-perfect…
As CCJ's Violent Crime Working Group has noted, "Of the anti-violence interventions not involving law enforcement, CBT appears to have the strongest track record of success." counciloncj.org/meeting-bullet…
May 31, 2022 • 7 tweets • 4 min read
During the horror of last week, you would be forgiven for missing a very welcome development: the new executive order from @POTUS on policing. Read on.
On the anniversary of the brutal murder of George Floyd, the President signed an order including a new federal use-of-force standard, database for police misconduct, a ban on chokeholds, and restrictions on no-knock warrants, among other reforms. whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/…
May 29, 2022 • 11 tweets • 2 min read
If you're trying to make sense of which policies work to reduce gun violence, it's helpful to keep in mind that here in the U.S., we don't really have one gun violence problem, we have at least four. Read on.
The first are gun suicides, which cause the most gun deaths. Some don't consider this "violence" bc the harm is self-inflicted, but given that almost 25k lost their lives in 2020 to this it's well worth including. I exclude accidents bc thankfully there aren't nearly as many.
May 28, 2022 • 8 tweets • 3 min read
I think Patterson and Densley correctly analyzed the problem: hurt, angry men looking to lash out. But the solutions in their book are not helpful from a policy perspective - they essentially call for more of everything. /1
I call this policy "moreism" - someone accurately identifies a social problem and says, "If you give me tons of attention, resources, and support, I can solve this." Well, yeah, but that's true of most problems and doesn't acknowledge the reality of scarcity. /2
May 26, 2022 • 11 tweets • 3 min read
It's pretty simple, but that doesn't make it easy. Read on.
America has more guns per person than any other nation, and it's not close.
Dec 31, 2021 • 11 tweets • 6 min read
According to excellent work by @Crimealytics, we can expect murder to be up about 7% nationally in 2021. That follows a 29% surge in homicides in 2020. Why is this happening? What can be done?
Short answer: this is happening because of the pandemic, politics, and guns. The pandemic has put everyone under intense pressure, but since #COVID concentrates among the same people and places that violence does, they feel it worst of all.
Sep 25, 2021 • 5 tweets • 3 min read
@abbie_henson Thanks for asking. In criminal justice policy (not academia), we deal with big, tough, real issues. Life, death, freedom, incarceration. No one can challenge the undeniable salience, gravitas, and objective reality of murder, for instance.
@abbie_henson The research I’m interested in gives concrete guidance on how to save lives and keep people free. Agree those engaged in such research should strive for objectivity, but can never be totally so. Also agree they should be transparent about that.
Jun 6, 2021 • 9 tweets • 3 min read
The @washingtonpost editorial board wrote a reasonable piece on the rising rates of violent crime confronting the country right now. But there's an important point that they, and others, are leaving out... washingtonpost.com/opinions/viole…
Many in media and politics are finally citing "community-based" efforts to reduce violence and the evidence showing they can reduce shootings and killings. That's good. Very good. But what they leave out is this...
"Defunding the police" is a terrible idea that won't serve anyone well - not communities, not police, not anybody. Here are just a few reasons why. washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost…
First, "defunding" would put police and communities in competition with another for funding, precisely at the time when they need to be working together more closely. It's a wedge policy at the worst possible moment.
Jun 17, 2017 • 13 tweets • 2 min read
1/ Sessions put his reasons for DOJ’s sentencing policy in print, so now we can show just how wrong he is. Read on. washingtonpost.com/opinions/jeff-…2/ “Drug trafficking is inherently violent.” Yes & no. Violence accompanies any illegal activity, but drug dealing much less violent today.
