Tag: Crime

Crime Trends in U.S. Cities: Year-End 2024 Update – Council on Criminal Justice

Key Takeaways

This study updates and supplements previous U.S. crime trends reports by the Council on Criminal Justice (CCJ) with data through December 2024. It examines yearly and monthly rates of reported crime for 13 violent, property, and drug offenses in 40 American cities that have consistently reported monthly data over the past six years. The 40 cities are not necessarily representative of all jurisdictions in the United States. Not all cities published data for each offense (see the Appendix for which cities reported which offenses); trends in offenses with fewer reporting cities should be viewed with caution. Not all crimes are reported to law enforcement. In addition, the data collected for this report are subject to revision by local jurisdictions.

Reported levels of 12 of the 13 offenses covered in this report were lower in 2024 than in 2023; shoplifting was the only offense higher in 2024 compared to 2023.
— Read on counciloncj.org/crime-trends-in-u-s-cities-year-end-2024-update/

Fixing ‘Broken Windows’ theory: Smart — not harsh — policing is the key to a safe and orderly city

If you’re familiar with the Broken Windows theory of policing, you may have learned of it, perhaps indirectly, from Malcolm Gladwell’s bestseller “The Tipping Point,” published 25 years ago.
— Read on nypost.com/2025/01/05/opinion/fixing-broken-windows-theory-smart-not-harsh-policing-is-the-key-to-a-safe-and-orderly-city/

Broken Windows Policing Is Still the Best Way to Fight Crime

If you’re familiar with the Broken Windows theory of policing, you may have learned of it, perhaps indirectly, from Malcolm Gladwell’s bestseller The Tipping Point, published 25 years ago. In the book’s most-discussed chapter, Gladwell sought to explain why New York City, in the 1990s, suddenly experienced the greatest drop in violent crime ever recorded. True, other cities saw crime declines in this period, but nowhere else did crime plunge so significantly and so swiftly. In just a few years, New York went from being one of the most dangerous and frightening big cities in America to one of the safest. Why?

Gladwell surveyed various possibilities having to do with the economy, changing demographics, and the waning of the deadly crack trade, but found them unpersuasive. The real difference-maker, he said, was the NYPD’s commitment to Broken Windows policing—the disarmingly simple idea that serious crimes are more likely to occur in disorderly environments than orderly ones. By upgrading people’s surroundings, the theory says, you can improve their behavior.
— Read on www.city-journal.org/article/broken-windows-policing-crime-malcolm-gladwell

NRF | The Impact of Retail Theft & Violence 2024

Retailers reported a 93% increase in the average number of shoplifting incidents per year in 2023 versus 2019 and a 90% increase in dollar loss due to shoplifting over the same time period. Conducted in partnership with the Loss Prevention Research Council and sponsored by Sensormatic Solutions, “The Impact of Retail Theft & Violence 2024” examines how theft and violence have evolved since before COVID and how retailers are combating today’s retail crime landscape.

The survey was conducted online among senior loss prevention and security executives in the retail industry June 10 through July 12. The study contains results from mid-size to large retailers across 164 retail brands, which accounted for $1.52 trillion in annual sales in 2023 or 30% of total retail sales. The brands represent a variety of retail sectors including specialty and luxury retail, home improvement, mass merchandise, grocery and pharmacy.
— Read on nrf.com/research/the-impact-of-retail-theft-violence-2024

Why Crime Matters, and What to Do About It • The Aspen Institute Economic Strategy Group

In this paper, Jennifer Doleac describes what is known about crime trends in the US and outlines the best evidence to date on the effectiveness of various approaches to reducing crime through prevention, deterrence, and rehabilitation. 

Crime in the US rose during the 1980s and early 1990s before declining steadily until 2020. During the COVID-19 pandemic, homicides, shootings, and motor vehicle thefts spiked, but by late 2023, overall rates of homicides and shootings had returned to their pre-pandemic levels. Because less serious offenses such as carjackings are much more difficult to track with nationwide data systems, we currently have an incomplete picture of how those crimes have trended in recent years across the country. Certain types of crime remain high, however, and Doleac emphasizes that crime continues to disproportionately affect certain urban areas and communities.

— Read on www.economicstrategygroup.org/publication/doleac-crime/

10 years after the targeted killing of 2 NYPD officers, policing in NY has changed – Gothamist

Ten years ago today, two NYPD officers were shot and killed while sitting in their patrol car in Brooklyn.

It was a shocking act of violence that came on the heels of citywide protests over police brutality in the wake of Eric Garner’s death. Garner had been placed in an prohibited chokehold by an NYPD officer who was never charged with a crime.

The 2014 killings of officers Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu as they sat in their patrol car marked a turning point in New York City’s relationship with law enforcement. Law enforcement experts said the tragedy caused police to put new safety measures in place for officers, and public sentiment about criminal justice reform has swung back and forth over time. Families of the men killed said there is more work to do to improve police-community relations.
— Read on gothamist.com/news/10-years-after-the-targeted-killing-of-2-nypd-officers-policing-in-ny-has-changed