As Lexipol’s own Gordon Graham is wont to say, “Predictable is preventable” and that is probably true when it comes to the homicide spikes nationwide in 2020 and 2021.

In a recent article in the Wall Street Journal, former Baltimore Police Department officer and professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice Peter Moskos wrote, “Civil unrest and calls for police accountability don’t directly cause an increase in murders and other violence. The danger is when antipolice sentiment rises to the point where policing is seen as the primary problem to be solved rather than as an essential part of maintaining public order and safety. Onerous restrictions on the police can lead to the worst of both worlds: poorer policing and more violence…Mayors, city councils and police chiefs must accept responsibility for dramatic increases in street violence under their leadership, and they must be ready to defend the legal and necessary use of force by police.” 

In this episode of Policing Matters host Jim Dudley chats with Peter, who launched the Violence Reduction Project in late 2020, about the strategies cities and communities can deploy to address the rise in violent crime.