One of the first things I ask in my criminal justice students is, “why do people commit crime?” Students are pretty well trained to talk about social and environmental factors. After agreeing with all that, I like to add, “I thought people committed crime because they’re criminals!” Everybody laughs, but there’s a basic truth there,…
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A reader pointed out a good article in Chicago Magazine by John Conroy, “A Mugging on Lake Street.” It’s a bit heartbreaking to learn that John Conroy, whose name I recognize as a quality journalist, doesn’t have a regular gig. But at least he got this assignment. Too bad it all started with Conroy getting…
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[Detroit Police Chief] Evans reiterated his sense that people feel Detroit is supposed to have crime. He said he goes out two nights a week and works the streets, stopping motorists who rarely have driver’s license, registration, insurance. “What I say is: ‘Do you drive north of 8 Mile like this?’ And they say, ‘Hell…
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Duh. All cops know that. Rain keeps all the sh*ts inside. But apparently it’s breaking news to the New York Times. But I also think, despite what the article says, that rain reduces domestics as well. I don’t have the stats to back that up, but it’s certainly what I saw. Domestics don’t start because…
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Justin Fenton writes in the Sun.
The story by Suzanne Smalley in Newsweek: A prison may not seem like the best place to raise infants. But researchers are finding that it’s better than the alternative. Joseph Carlson, a criminal-justice professor at the University of Nebraska at Kearney who recently completed a 10-year study, says he thought such programs were “strange” when…
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The story in the Daily News: The city’s crime rate for the first three months of 2009 was the lowest in more than 40 years, defying fears that the sinking economy might send the city back into the bad old days of rampant murders and rough streets. Through the end of last month, overall crime…
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The danger in New York City of subway cuts and transit fare hikes looms. Keeping the transit system in decent shape affects more than your commute to work. It’s a public safety issue. The proposed MTA “doomsday” service cuts puts the past 15 years of public-safety gains in jeopardy. Many factors contributing to New York…
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Researchers, working with police, identified 34 crime hot spots. In half of them, authorities set to work – clearing trash from the sidewalks, fixing street lights, and sending loiterers scurrying. Abandoned buildings were secured, businesses forced to meet code, and more arrests made for misdemeanors. Mental health services and homeless aid referrals expanded. In the…
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I’m not one to give dumb crime fighting tips, but keep this in mind: even criminals need to buy presents. The week before Christmas is always a busy time for police, with extra muggings and robberies.