Tag: Crime

Myths and Realities: Prosecutors and Criminal Justice Reform | Brennan Center for Justice

Prosecutors play a vital role in the criminal justice system, determining not just which cases to pursue but also what charges to file and penalties to seek. Over the past decade, some prosecutors have developed approaches that aim to reduce racial and economic disparities and unjust outcomes in the legal system — such as excessive sentences or the criminalization of poverty through cash bail — while preserving public safety.

Far from a unified group, these prosecutors bring many different approaches to their work. They span the political spectrum and are found in urban and rural jurisdictions alike. They are often grouped under the label “progressive prosecutors” or “reform-minded prosecutors.” For the purposes of this analysis, we use the term “pro-reform prosecutors” to indicate chief district attorneys, county attorneys, commonwealth attorneys, and state attorneys who campaigned on or promised to reimagine the role of their office to broadly reduce unjust disparities in the justice system and decrease unnecessary incarceration.
— Read on www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/myths-and-realities-prosecutors-and-criminal-justice-reform

Declines in victims calling the police in 21st-century America: how the trends vary by race/ethnicity and racial-immigration contexts | Crime Science | Full Text

Abstract
Victims’ willingness to call the police facilitates access to the justice system and potential resources. Research shows a decline in police notification in the United States in recent decades, but the research has not assessed variation in trends across different racial/ethnic groups and different racial-immigration contexts. This study uses the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) data from 52 metropolitan areas in the United States from 2000 to 2015 to investigate how victims across racial/ethnic groups vary in the likelihood of crime reporting based on geographic context. The results show that Black, Latino, and Asian victims’ crime-reporting behavior is influenced by the racial/ethnic and immigrant composition of the metropolitan areas. While the likelihood of police notification between racial/ethnic minorities and Whites is often similar when averaged across areas, minority victims in areas with higher percentages of Black or immigrant residents show a lower likelihood of crime reporting than their White counterparts. The higher percentage of immigrants is also associated with a steeper decline in the reporting of property crimes. These findings demonstrate the context-dependent nature of crime reporting. They help explain mixed evidence on the associations of race/ethnicity with police notification. To understand the crime-reporting behavior of victims, especially those who are racially marginalized, more attention to racial-immigration contexts is needed.
— Read on crimesciencejournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s40163-024-00233-7

Not Taking Crime Seriously: California’s Prop 47 Exacerbated Crime and Drug Abuse | Manhattan Institute

In November 2014, California voters approved a criminal justice reform measure, Proposition 47 (“Prop 47”), with almost 60% support.[1] Ten years later, California voters are now considering rolling back some of its soft-on-crime policies. Prop 47 identified six “petty” crimes—grand theft, larceny, personal drug use, forgery, and two types of check fraud—and reclassified them. It […]
— Read on manhattan.institute/article/not-taking-crime-seriously-californias-prop-47-exacerbated-crime-and-drug-abuse

Exclusive | Assaults on NYPD officers soar to ‘unprecedented levels’ — with cops giving potential reasons behind disturbing trend

Assaults on NYPD cops have skyrocketed to “unprecedented levels” in 2024 — 41% so far over the same period last and 60% since 2019, data obtained by The Post show.
— Read on nypost.com/2024/10/12/us-news/assaults-on-nypd-officers-soar-to-unprecedented-levels-with-cops-giving-potential-reasons-behind-disturbing-trend/

Model Legislation to Modernize Anti-KKK Masking Laws for Intimidating Protesters | Manhattan Institute

Just as Ku Klux Klan members used white hoods to conceal their identities and terrorize their targets, modern activists are using keffiyehs, Guy Fawkes masks, balaclavas, and other inherently intimidating face coverings. Indeed, face-masking is pervasive among participants in demonstrations that are growing in frequency and disruptiveness. Most recently, the pro-Hamas “protests” that have proliferated […]
— Read on manhattan.institute/article/model-legislation-to-modernize-anti-kkk-masking-laws-for-intimidating-protesters

The Perception of Crime Since 2020: The Case of Chattanooga | Manhattan Institute

Executive Summary
Crime remains a pressing concern for Americans, even as rates of violence have receded from 2022 peaks. What explains these persistent concerns? This report investigates this question in the context of a small but rapidly growing American city: Chattanooga, Tennessee. A Manhattan Institute poll from earlier this year found that Chattanooga residents are worried about safety in their communities; this report investigates why.

In a review of Chattanooga data, it finds that the city experienced the same increases in certain kinds of crime that other American cities did over the past four years, but that, through the application of evidence-based practices, the city’s police and municipal government have brought the problem under control.

But even as violent crime has largely receded, there are multiple indicators suggesting that another problem persists: disorder. Data indicate that homelessness, trash, and certain kinds of petty crime remain elevated above pre-2020 levels. A reduction in city resources—especially police resources—appears to have caused a concentration on serious crime, at the expense of more minor but still significant issues.

Disorder, this report argues, matters, especially for a growing city like Chattanooga. Consequently, this report concludes by outlining a number of principles for addressing this problem, while capitalizing on the gains that the city has already made in getting major crime under control.
— Read on manhattan.institute/article/the-perception-of-crime-since-2020-the-case-of-chattanooga