Reversing DC crime trends
Reversing DC crime trends
Josh Crawford, the Director of Criminal Justice Initiatives at the Georgia Center for Opportunity, visited Fox 5 DC to talk about his analysis on DC crime trends.
Getting serious about teen violence in Washington, D.C.: Louisville, Kentucky, provides a solution
Getting serious about teen violence in Washington, D.C.: Louisville, Kentucky, provides a solution
In this opinion editorial published in The Washington Times, Joshua Crawford highlights the escalating crime crisis in Washington, D.C., particularly focusing on a significant surge in violent crimes, including a staggering 104% increase in carjackings from the previous year. Crawford points out that a majority of carjacking arrestees in the city are under 18, with many being repeat offenders associated with or recruited by street gangs. The author suggests that Washington can learn from Louisville, Kentucky’s successful efforts to address teen violence. In Louisville, Republican state Rep. Kevin Bratcher spearheaded House Bill 3, a comprehensive measure aimed at holding violent juvenile offenders accountable and providing treatment. The bill mandates immediate detention for juveniles charged with serious violent offenses, offering a disruptive intervention in the cycle of violence. It also allocates funds for a new detention center and treatment programs, including cognitive behavioral therapy.
“The new law creates early intervention points for truants who show no improvement in their diversion programs. It does so by allowing an interdisciplinary team to alter the treatment modalities earlier and a judge to hold noncompliant parents accountable if they willingly refuse to aid in their child’s diversion plan. Unresolved truancy is strongly predictive of future juvenile delinquency and even adult criminality. So, getting it right with those children today can prevent serious violence tomorrow.”
Crawford emphasizes the importance of early intervention, proposing measures like altering treatment modalities for truants and holding noncompliant parents accountable. He also advocates for stronger penalties for adults involved in driving juvenile violence, citing the success of Kentucky’s stricter penalties for recruiting juveniles into gangs.
The article concludes by asserting that, while juvenile violence continues to rise in Washington, D.C., Louisville has seen a leveling off and signs of decline in total shootings, suggesting that bold action and the adoption of effective policies can reverse the trend in public safety.
New crime dashboard will report ‘real-time gun violence’ to expand transparency in Louisville
New crime dashboard will report ‘real-time gun violence’ to expand transparency in Louisville
Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg will hold a press conference Tuesday, introducing a real-time, comprehensive reporting tool that will expand information transparency on the city’s crime statistics.
A media release said the dashboard aims to create more collaborative work opportunities with and within the Louisville community.
“As a general rule, more data and more transparency is a good thing,” said Joshua Crawford, the Director of Criminal Justice at the Center of Opportunity.
Crawford sees a lot of benefits with this new dashboard. One of them being allowing people to see the reality of violence in the city.
“One of the things that people get wrong is that they think entire neighborhoods are riddled with violence,” Crawford said. “What a dashboard like this can demonstrate is that there are parts of the city people may feel uncomfortable being in, but there’s really not a reason to be uncomfortable because they’re not as violent as people perceive them to be.”
That’s not to say that there isn’t violence in the city. LMPD says there’s been 140 homicides so far this year.
Crawford said the violence happens at the micro location level.
“So at the one block street segment level, or at the outside of particular bar level, or the outside of particular abandoned buildings level,” he said.
Crawford says it’ll not only benefit people to know where there’s a history of violence, but also it might ease some concerns.
“To know that a particular area is not nearly as violent or criminogenic as you thought has benefit as well,” Crawford said.
With people being able to see all the information in real time, we asked Crawford if the areas with a higher level of violence will be ostracized.
“I think that’s only possible if you don’t do anything about it,” he said. “If it continues unabated then it may have that problem, but that’s a failure of government as much as it is this dashboard.”
Crawford said officials need to send services and resources to areas of violence to help the citizens in those places.
Josh Crawford, Covid Becomes an Excuse for Crime. The focus on comparing 2019 and 2022 rates obscures how bad policy has worsened violence. | The Steve Gruber Show
Josh Crawford, Covid Becomes an Excuse for Crime. The focus on comparing 2019 and 2022 rates obscures how bad policy has worsened violence. | The Steve Gruber Show
Josh Crawford serves as the Director of Criminal Justice Initiatives at the Georgia Center for Opportunity, leading efforts in public safety and re-entry programs. In his work, he addresses the impact of bad policy on violence, cautioning against solely comparing crime rates between 2019 and 2022 as it may overlook the role of policy decisions in exacerbating the issue, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. Crawford contends that the pandemic should not be used as a blanket excuse for rising crime rates, emphasizing the need to critically examine and address underlying policy issues contributing to the problem.
Josh Crawford Talks Criminal Justice, Policies and more
Josh Crawford Talks Criminal Justice, Policies and more
Josh Crawford, Director of Criminal Justice Initiatives, joins Leland Conway to discuss realistic solutions to policy initiatives to keep our neighbors and communities safe.
