Violent crime

OPINION: Levels of violent crime across America saw an unprecedented increase in 2020, and remain worryingly high in 2021; in this latest essay from the Violence Reduction Project, Stephen Eide, a Senior Fellow at the Manhattan Institute, calls for more effective treatment and supervision of those who are mentally ill as an important step towards reducing violence and creating safer communities.

FEATURE: Wales has been a pioneering country in its public-health approach to policing, but now a multi-agency initiative is aiming to create a truly trauma-informed nation that understands and recognises the impact of adverse childhood experiences, as Policing Insight Contributing Editor Tina Orr Munro reports.

OPINION: Levels of violent crime across America saw an unprecedented increase in 2020, and gun violence remains worryingly high in 2021; in this latest essay from the Violence Reduction Project, Dr Maria (Maki) Haberfeld of New York’s John Jay College of Criminal Justice argues that improving national standards in law enforcement and taking politics out of policing would be much more effective in reducing violence than defunding the police.

OPINION: Levels of violent crime across America saw an unprecedented increase in 2020, and gun violence remains worryingly high in 2021; in this latest essay from the Violence Reduction Project, DeVone Boggan, CEO of Advance Peace, explains why investing in ‘Violence Interrupters’ – reformed gun offenders operating as mediators, de-escalation experts and violence interventionists – has the real potential to drive change in gun-impacted communities.

OPINION: Levels of violent crime across America saw an unprecedented increase in 2020; in this latest essay from the Violence Reduction Project, Nick Selby, former Director of Cyber Intelligence and Investigations for NYPD, sets out why funding mental health teams staffed by clinicians and cops would be a smarter way to reduce violence and deaths.

Insight: A new multi-partner approach to sharing data has been adopted in Thames Valley to help tackle the scourge of violence; Governed by a principle of no 'misuse' of data, whilst ensuring there is no 'missed use' of data, the project aims to direct early intervention and prevention strategies, explains its head, DCI Lewis Prescott-Mayling.

FEATURE: The recent riots in Northern Ireland have been blamed on the Brexit sea border controversy and the decision not to prosecute Republican mourners over a COVID-19 funeral breach; but a recent review of terrorism legislation warns that delays and failures in the country’s criminal justice system could exacerbate the issues, as Policing insight’s Andrew Staniforth explains.

OPINION: Levels of violent crime across America saw an unprecedented increase in 2020; in this latest essay from the Violence Reduction Project, former NYPD Chief of Department Louis Anemone sets out some specific policing strategies for reducing violence in the city, including increased solo foot patrols, a reduction in specialised roles, and an embargo on sworn officers filling administrative posts.

OPINION: Levels of violent crime across America saw an unprecedented increase in 2020; in this latest essay from the Violence Reduction Project, Professor Justin Nix argues that revisiting a successful St Louis ‘consent to search’ project which took more than 400 guns off the street could reduce violence and save lives.

ANALYSIS: Levels of violent crime across America saw an unprecedented increase in 2020; in this latest essay from the Violence Reduction Project, Elijah Anderson, Sterling Professor at Yale University, outlines the ‘code of the streets’ that is contribution to a vicious circle of violence that claims victims Black and white, poor and affluent.

OPINION: Levels of violent crime across America saw an unprecedented increase in 2020; in this latest essay from the Violence Reduction Project, former police officer and New York City Attorney Aurora Curtis calls for an expansion of the Massachusetts Domestic Violence High-Risk Response Model, which has co-ordinated a multi-agency approach to targeting the men most likely to kill their partners – with dramatic results.

OPINION: Levels of violent crime across America saw an unprecedented increase in 2020; in this latest essay from the Violence Reduction Project, Dr Michael Jenkins, Associate Professor at the University of Scranton, argues that a return to policing’s traditional roots will curb disorder and, in turn, build stronger, healthier police-public relations with a shared vision for communities.

OPINION: Levels of violent crime across America saw an unprecedented increase in 2020; in this latest essay from the Violence Reduction Project, former Baltimore City Police Deputy Commissioner Tony Barksdale highlights the urgent need for policing to be able to confront the violence that is devastating some of the most vulnerable sections of the community.

OPINION: Levels of violent crime across America saw an unprecedented increase in 2020; in this latest essay from the Violence Reduction Project, Denise Rodriguez, a leading expert on collaborative reform, police accountability and community engagement, explains why improved police-community relations is crucial to reducing levels of violence.

ANALYSIS: Levels of violent crime across America saw an unprecedented increase in 2020; in this latest essay from the Violence Reduction Project, Professors Jerry Ratcliffe and Evan Sorg – both former police officers – argue that effective use of foot patrol could be the key to re-engaging with communities and reducing violence.

FEATURE: Against a backdrop of unprecedented rising violence in 2020 – with murders across the biggest 65 cities in the US increasing collectively by a third – Professor Peter Moskos, a former Baltimore police officer, launched the Violence Reduction Project; in this first in a series of essays from practitioners, experts and academics, he highlights the aims of the Project, and the need for urgent action.

OPINION: A consultation on Serious Violence Reduction Orders – the latest Government measure to tackle violent offences, particularly knife crime – recently finished, having prompted concerns from a number of criminal justice support organisations; police ethics adviser Montell Neufville believes that, if introduced, the new orders could have a damaging impact on community relations.