Resources on any cities reducing crime
September 15, 2022 8:32 PM Subscribe
I am looking for resources about any cities reducing crime.
Ideally, these will be practices replicable in a midsize U.S. city.
Specifically, I am looking for what a city can do, not what any other entitiy might do (although the city could work with another entity together somethow).
Proposed ideas that aren't yet put in practice are OK. Progressive ideas are all the better.
Ideally, these will be practices replicable in a midsize U.S. city.
Specifically, I am looking for what a city can do, not what any other entitiy might do (although the city could work with another entity together somethow).
Proposed ideas that aren't yet put in practice are OK. Progressive ideas are all the better.
What sort of crime are you thinking about? Securities laws violations and wage theft require different approaches than petty larceny.
posted by praemunire at 8:43 PM on September 15, 2022 [4 favorites]
posted by praemunire at 8:43 PM on September 15, 2022 [4 favorites]
Response by poster: Street crime. Mainly murders. My city has a lot of murders.
Also, run-of-the-mill violent crime and property crime. We have a lot of auto theft, too.
And gangs and drugs.
posted by NotLost at 8:50 PM on September 15, 2022
Also, run-of-the-mill violent crime and property crime. We have a lot of auto theft, too.
And gangs and drugs.
posted by NotLost at 8:50 PM on September 15, 2022
Best answer: Universal Basic Income reduces crime by 42%.
Most violent crime and property crime is very linked to poor economic prospects and lack of opportunities. The housing crisis has been really rough for people and has resulted in more crime. If your midsize city has experienced a boom in Airbnbs and rents going through the roof, an “easy” lift would be getting city council to ban Airbnbs. And do something to limit rent. UBI has been a cost saving measure everywhere that it’s been tried, but is a harder sell. Get at the same thing with rent control and kicking out Airbnb properties.
posted by Bottlecap at 10:09 PM on September 15, 2022 [7 favorites]
Most violent crime and property crime is very linked to poor economic prospects and lack of opportunities. The housing crisis has been really rough for people and has resulted in more crime. If your midsize city has experienced a boom in Airbnbs and rents going through the roof, an “easy” lift would be getting city council to ban Airbnbs. And do something to limit rent. UBI has been a cost saving measure everywhere that it’s been tried, but is a harder sell. Get at the same thing with rent control and kicking out Airbnb properties.
posted by Bottlecap at 10:09 PM on September 15, 2022 [7 favorites]
Best answer: Cure Violence Global works directly with cities and has had success in midsize/major markets:
‘The approach's efficacy has been demonstrated through independently funded and independently conducted multi-year, multi-site, mixed methods scientific evaluations that show 40-70% reductions in shootings and killings in the hardest hit communities in the U.S. and Latin America. In some cases, killings and shootings drop by 90% and retaliation killings stop completely. These evaluations also document other positive effects, including increased feelings of community safety, positive parenting outcomes, improved employment and education outcomes, changes in community norms about violence, among others.”
posted by picopebbles at 5:57 AM on September 16, 2022
‘The approach's efficacy has been demonstrated through independently funded and independently conducted multi-year, multi-site, mixed methods scientific evaluations that show 40-70% reductions in shootings and killings in the hardest hit communities in the U.S. and Latin America. In some cases, killings and shootings drop by 90% and retaliation killings stop completely. These evaluations also document other positive effects, including increased feelings of community safety, positive parenting outcomes, improved employment and education outcomes, changes in community norms about violence, among others.”
posted by picopebbles at 5:57 AM on September 16, 2022
Best answer: Scotland’s Violence Reduction Unit has had some success by treating gang and knife violence as public health issues rather than criminal issues. That article says they got the idea from similar schemes in the US and gives some info that you could follow up.
I don’t know enough about US systems to know if that would be achievable by a City administration without the cooperation of the police and justice system, if that’s what you’re after, but worth a look.
posted by penguin pie at 6:10 AM on September 16, 2022
I don’t know enough about US systems to know if that would be achievable by a City administration without the cooperation of the police and justice system, if that’s what you’re after, but worth a look.
posted by penguin pie at 6:10 AM on September 16, 2022
Best answer: Violent crime rates have decreased by about half since the early '90's. I'm convinced (by others - see Kevin Drum for a digest of this information) that this is largely related to the removal of lead from gasoline. The relationship holds for many differently-situated American cities (so forget about Rudy crowing about his success in NYC, it happened everywhere), and has international effects which trace similar curves as countries adopt no-lead rules. Continuing to work to remove lead sources in the environments of growing children would be an excellent long-term focus, and one doable by a city, with federal help.
posted by bullatony at 6:20 AM on September 16, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by bullatony at 6:20 AM on September 16, 2022 [2 favorites]
Best answer: There is an apparent causal link between dropping out of highschool early and going on to commit crimes. Raising the dropout age would likely have an impact.
You can hypothesize from that result that, in general, adopting a model which treats having children as a benefit to society and tries to keep families together and children in the educational system (instead of the current system of destroying family bonds by punishing people for being poor and sending their children into the foster-to-prison pipeline) would probably have a huge impact on reducing crime rates in American cities. Universal childcare, unrestricted cash benefits to mothers, and free college and vocational training would all have huge impacts on crime. Cash benefits and access to childcare in the first 5 years of life would likely significantly reduce the number of children who end up in the foster system, and thus start ending the foster to prison pipeline.
Investing in the built environment of poor neighborhoods is another way we might reduce crime rates. In general correcting the racist patterns of community investment would probably make a huge difference.
posted by dis_integration at 7:01 AM on September 16, 2022 [1 favorite]
You can hypothesize from that result that, in general, adopting a model which treats having children as a benefit to society and tries to keep families together and children in the educational system (instead of the current system of destroying family bonds by punishing people for being poor and sending their children into the foster-to-prison pipeline) would probably have a huge impact on reducing crime rates in American cities. Universal childcare, unrestricted cash benefits to mothers, and free college and vocational training would all have huge impacts on crime. Cash benefits and access to childcare in the first 5 years of life would likely significantly reduce the number of children who end up in the foster system, and thus start ending the foster to prison pipeline.
Investing in the built environment of poor neighborhoods is another way we might reduce crime rates. In general correcting the racist patterns of community investment would probably make a huge difference.
posted by dis_integration at 7:01 AM on September 16, 2022 [1 favorite]
Best answer: In every American city where the cops have gone on strike or had some kind of work slowdown, the violent crime rate decreases. This is because the actual effect of cops in communities are to increase tension and stress among the poor who have every aspect of their life criminalized, so when there’s less violence from police onto the community, there’s a corresponding decrease in violence from the community to itself.
(It’s possibly also because police are an essential part of organized crime/gangs, and when cops don’t function as part of that machine, the whole apparatus slows down).
posted by Jon_Evil at 8:13 AM on September 16, 2022
(It’s possibly also because police are an essential part of organized crime/gangs, and when cops don’t function as part of that machine, the whole apparatus slows down).
posted by Jon_Evil at 8:13 AM on September 16, 2022
Part of "crime reduction" consists of not treating certain things as crimes, and not treating certain people as "criminals." This is where non-police interventions in mental health crises come in, and it's something that's being proposed, implemented and/or studied at the municipal level in various places:
The Case for Non-Police Response to Behavioral Health Crises
Re-examining mental health crisis intervention: A rapid review comparing outcomes across police, co-responder and non-police models
Alternatives for a Safer Ottawa: Non-Police Mental Health Crisis Response (pdf)
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 9:12 AM on September 16, 2022 [2 favorites]
The Case for Non-Police Response to Behavioral Health Crises
Re-examining mental health crisis intervention: A rapid review comparing outcomes across police, co-responder and non-police models
Alternatives for a Safer Ottawa: Non-Police Mental Health Crisis Response (pdf)
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 9:12 AM on September 16, 2022 [2 favorites]
Response by poster: Thanks for all the suggestions! I am to take some of these to my city council.
posted by NotLost at 9:26 PM on September 16, 2022
posted by NotLost at 9:26 PM on September 16, 2022
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by NotLost at 8:43 PM on September 15, 2022