Author: Moskos

On policing and criminal justice

Part One of a interview of me by Michelle Brunet at Criminal Justice Schools Infois online. If they’re nice enough to interview me, I’ll be nice enough to tell you about it!

What I’m Reading: Gun Guys

Gun Guysby Dan Baum. So far so good. Especially if you don’t understand gun guys. Or if you are a gun guy but don’t like the NRA. I’ve written about Baumbefore. Truth be told, I know the guy. Truth be told, sometimes when he’s in town he lets himself into my house and eats my…
Read more

Dog Bites Man

“Ex-DEA heads: Feds should nullify state pot laws” Now there’s a headline that doesn’t exactly scream, “Extra, extra, read all about it!”

The Streets of Rome: The Realities of Problem-Oriented Policing, by Peter W. Maher

Back in October, 2012, I had a guest blogger, Jan Haldipur, on “How the iPhone Changed the Way We Do Ethnography: A Methodological Note.” It’s worth a read. Today I proudly feature Peter W. Maher. He completed his undergraduate studies at Hamilton College in Clinton, N.Y. (and can be contacted at pmaher@hamilton.edu). Peter did some…
Read more

Crimes and Cameras

Just one point of data to add to the picture. From the Chicago Sun Times: Even with $26 million in high-resolution cameras finally in full force last year, reported crime at CTA rail stations rose 21 percent, a Chicago Sun-Times analysis shows. And compared with 2010 — well before most of the CTA’s current 3,600…
Read more

Why is Academic Writing So Bad?

Stephen Walt in Foreign Policy: In the end, it comes down to what a scholar is trying to achieve. If the goal is just narrow professional success — getting tenure, earning a decent salary, etc. — then bad writing isn’t a huge handicap and may even confer some advantages. But if the goal is to…
Read more

NYC Shootings and Homicides

A short while back I was hit with this little picture: You may look at the stop-and-frisk trend. But what I found more interesting are the shooting numbers. You don’t often see those numbers. Homicides are well tallied by police departments and the Uniform Crime Reports. Shootings less so. I’ve always used homicides as my…
Read more

“A system that is dishonest and fundamentally flawed”

I often (and sincerely) defend Vice Magazine as (on a good day, mind you) the best source of journalism in our fine republic. Last night a friend sent me this link called, “Testilying: Cops Are Liars Who Get Away with Perjury.” OK… so I’m not expecting this to be pro-police. But before I read it,…
Read more

Jackpot!

Alan Suderman of the Washington City Paper has a good article about police department discipline and some recent happenings in DC. Here’s the main story. And an extra. I don’t know why, but I always get a kick about being quoted using naughty words. In truth, I don’t actually think Iswear that much. And yet…
Read more

Flogging Gains Steam

There’s a bill to bring back corporal punishment(seemingly in lieu of incarceration) in Montana. It ain’t gonna happen, but still… Speaking of which, did I mention — gosh, no, I didn’t think I did — that In Defense of Flogging is out in paperback? Already? Where does time go? You might be thinking, “So light.…
Read more