What we're reading
Mother Jones
Stop Blaming Crime Rates on Defunding the Police
07/02/2021
There is no national evidence of that. What we have is anecdotes.
New York Magazine
Progressives Don’t Need to Downplay Rising Homicides
07/01/2021
Victims of community violence deserve the left’s solidarity and policy solutions. These include raising the minimum wage, investing in community college, and expanding health care access in urban areas.
Essence
Decreasing the Jail Population Doesn’t Mean Less Safety, New Study Finds
07/01/2021
The study's findings, supported by the MacArthur Foundation, indicate that reducing jail populations did not increase crime. In some places, crime decreased.
The Guardian
How bad is the rise in US homicides? Factchecking the ‘crime wave’ narrative police are pushing
06/30/2021
Homicides were up across the US in 2020 and appeared to be primarily driven by rising gun violence, but other crimes fell
Politico
Opinion | Can Journalism Wean Itself Off the Cheap Clicks of Bad Crime Coverage?
06/26/2021
Journalism’s obsession with the bloody and the sensational is overdue for a rethink thanks to the right-to-be-forgotten movement. But don’t forget the rights of readers.
Boston Globe
A cure for violence
06/18/2021
An audacious psychological experiment takes root in some of Massachusetts’ toughest neighborhoods.
New York Times
Why People Misperceive Crime Trends (Chicago Is Not the Murder Capital)
06/16/2021
What readers got wrong and right in our quiz.
CNN
How crime stats lie – and what you need to know to understand them
06/14/2021
Understanding crime trends requires nuance, but gaps and inconsistencies in the data make it easy to misinterpret and spin facts in a way that serves political agendas instead of evidence-based solutions.
Colorlines
Formerly Incarcerated Mothers of Color Face Harsh Realities
05/05/2021
Crushing roadblocks to reentry are heightened by motherhood.