Quality Policing Podcast and Blog

Laments of the Qualitative Researcher

I don’t apply for many grants, in part because they’re so hard for a qualitative researcher to get. Ethnographic work and qualitative research isn’t taken seriously in a generally quantitative field. My research doesn’t follow the standard “theory, hypothesis, experiment, verify” model of hard science. Nor should it. But it’s hard to get grants or…
Read more

Is the sky falling?

Not yet. But the sky did get a little lower in NYC last month. Over the 28-day period ending 4/6/14, compared to 2013, the number of people shot increased 40 percent (101 vs 72). The increases were found, not surprisingly, in the Bronx (27 vs 18), Brooklyn North (28 vs 17) and Queens South (12…
Read more

Speak like a Baltimoron

One of my life’s great regrets is that I can’t for the life of me imitate the Baltimore accent. And I love the Baltimore accent. Well, I’m not the only one who has trouble with those sounds that go from DC to Philly. This is actually about the Philly accent, but a lot of it…
Read more

RIP Officer Dennis Guerra

From the NYT:

Life in Federal Minimum-Security Prison… Free Kariakou!

Not too long ago I sent my Greek Americans book to John Kiriakou. He’s a proud Greek American and about as close to a political prisoners as we have. In his own words: I’m one of the people the Obama administration charged with criminal espionage, one of those whose lives were torn apart by being…
Read more

(Former) Narc in Vice

Neill Franklin, once my commanding officer and now my friend (and coauthor) featured in Vice Magazine. I love Vice Magazine. And just because I’ve also been featured in it.

The non-coming of the super-predictor

A nice New York Times video piece about the coming of the “superpredators” who never came. File under C for crack babies? From the Times: What happened with the superpredator jeremiads is that they proved to be nonsense. They were based on a notion that there would be hordes upon hordes of depraved teenagers resorting…
Read more

Crime in NYC is going to go up, unless it doesn’t

I’ve never heard such uniformity in belief from police officers that crime is going to go up in New York City. Why with stop, question, and frisks down and a liberal mayor in charge, it’s almost like they want crime to go up just so they can say, “we told you so” and reminisce about…
Read more

Ghetto Culture, Hockey Fights, or Stuff White People Like

This may be the best argument for a residency requirement I’ve ever seen. You know what “ghetto” is? When two groups who are oh-so similar — really with everything in common, objectively, and perhaps a bit misunderstood by society — forgot their brotherhood and trade blows with each other because of some perceived slight. Or…
Read more

The black-market pot trade in Colorado

One would expect to see illegal weed sales diminish in states with legalized marijuana. It hasn’t happened overnight. But I suspect it will. From USA Today.