July 31, 2020
Whose Streets?
Oakland residents convinced the city to rethink how it tackled gun violence. Now, amid calls to defund the police, other cities are eyeing its strategy.
Oakland residents convinced the city to rethink how it tackled gun violence. Now, amid calls to defund the police, other cities are eyeing its strategy.
Two crime experts, Thomas Abt and David Kennedy, weigh in.
Some past joint operations are associated with bringing down crime in some cities. “But those reductions don’t last very long. So the impact of those surges, if it’s there at all, is momentary. And things go back pretty much to the way they were.”
David Kennedy, director of the National Network for Safe Communities at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, said that other U.S. cities have also seen increases in violence that may be linked to the pandemic and shifting public opinions on the police.
As California and the nation debate the aftermath of the George Floyd killing, Stockton has some insights, if not answers, about what it means to rethink policing.
Eight years into leading law enforcement in this long-troubled city, the results of Jones’ experimental approach are a lesson for a nation in turmoil about what defunding means, how far and fast reform can go, and the degree police should be held responsible for racism that is systematic in schools, banks, healthcare and other institutions.
In the wake of several high-profile police-involved killings this year, cries for reform are growing. But what does police reform actually look like? We talk with a renowned criminal justice expert about what reforms have been tried, what’s worked, and what hasn’t.
This is the third and final podcast episode in the mini-series “After the protest” where Johanna Kinnock and Maria Brus Pedersen dive into some of the big questions raised by the current demonstrations with some of the leading experts and changemakers on the issue.
“Most of what the department does is not violence prevention,” said David Kennedy. “It’s not associated with crime. It covers a wide range: domestic disturbances,
