Want to help cops? Defund the police! — Because there are so many bad-faith discussions, I have to start with a quick disclaimer. “Defund the police” means to shift resources from our inefficient policing structure to other services that help people (and also deter crime!). …

And with the guns, poverty, global warming… — If you’ve read any of my articles on policing, it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise to learn that I am a progressive. I take the radical approach that we should actually try to improve society in ways that benefit everyone, based on evidence-based practices. This is a very…

This was never about a few bad apples. — Imagine that you’re sitting on a jury in a murder trial. The defendant has been found guilty, and the trial has proceeded to the sentencing portion. It will be part of your job to determine the punishment for the murderer. The defense attorney says, “Let’s not litigate the past! …

Right-wingers and “moderates” are gaslighting the country. — I’ve been studying crime for almost two decades now and there’s one thing that I’m very familiar with: people lying about crime. I thought about hedging that and considering the possibility that they’re just misinformed, but at this point, the amount of energy it must take to remain misinformed kind…

Is this even possible? — In the summer of 2020, when protests against the police were peaking, a Gallup poll was released that showed 94% of individuals supported changes made to policing. (58% supported major changes, 36% supported minor changes.) …

Unless your goal is more white supremacy… in which case, yeah, police reform is great. — There is a major disconnect going on in the national conversation around policing. That disconnect is the role of the police in society. News publications report on policing as though the goal of the police was to improve public safety. Academics focus on evidence-based policing practices that would improve public…

This isn’t what justice looks like. — Derek Chauvin was sentenced to 22.5 years in prison for the murder of George Floyd. In a lot of ways, this is a very positive step in correcting the problems of policing in this country. It’s incredibly rare for officers to get these kinds of sentences; it wouldn’t have been…

The pro-police crowd is really anti-officer. — If you’re reading this, you probably know who Breonna Taylor was. Briefly, she was a young woman who was killed by police in a horrifically botched attempt to serve a warrant related to a non-violent drug offense. No officer was charged for her death. Breonna Taylor is yet another victim…

Some of you may die, but that’s a risk they’re willing to take. — Texas Governor Greg Abbot has promised to sign a bill that makes it incredibly difficult for large cities to reduce funding to police departments. The bill affects cities with over 250,000 residents, and states that any reduction in funding must first go through a municipal election. …