Quality Policing Podcast and Blog

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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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“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,…
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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…
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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.…
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Earl Weaver, RIP

“In five years, who’s going to be in the Hall in Fame?!” You, Earl, you gonna be in the Hall of Fame. “Little did I know 15 years ago, how deeply attached I’d become to this city. I came here in 1968 when urban areas were being demolished by riots and fires … but, after…
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Stop and Frisk

A federal judge ruled that some of the ways the NYPD conducts their “Trespass Affidavit Program” are unconstitutional. The NYT reports, “The judge ordered the police ‘to cease performing trespass stops’ outside the private buildings in the program unless officers have reasonable suspicion, a legal standard that requires officers to be acting on more than…
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Ah, the good ol’ days

Some of my old police friends my recognize these stories from Slate.com, which are taken from Ray Fisman and Tim Sullivan’s soon-to-be bestselling The Org: The Underlying Logic of the Office. Tim knows my story well, since his help and editorial vision made Cop in the Hood the rip-roaring success it is.