
The Alan Nathan Show

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Looking at a picture of her son Tyree, Sherita Smith remembers the birthday present he got her in September 2021.
“It always takes me back to a couple weeks before it happened,” Smith said. “My birthday was on the first and he said, ‘Mama, your birthday present is gonna be a little late.'”
Tyree got her the newest pair of Jordan shoes, to match some he had. Tyree, then 16, told her they were a few hundred dollars, and when Sherita told him he shouldn’t have spent so much, he said, “Well, you spend all your money on me.”
Josh Crawford, who is on the city’s GVI governance committee and has been critical of the program in the past, said he sees it improving as well.
“In order for GVI to function really well, you need the city and state to deliver a ‘B+’ job at least,” Crawford said. “The city is now doing about as well as I could expect for them.”
Crawford did say he thinks a disconnect with the Department of Corrections will continue to affect adult call-in participation, but that is not the city’s fault.
Digging Deeper into FBI’s Crime Statistics: The Role of Public Safety Policies
In a recent opinion editorial featured in The Wall Street Journal, by our own Josh Crawford, he highlights an important aspect of the FBI’s Crime in the Nation Statistics: while the headlines may suggest a decline in violent crime in the United States, a closer look reveals a more complex and troubling reality. The article discusses how the media’s focus on the COVID-19 pandemic tends to obscure the role of public safety policies in shaping crime rates, and how certain cities with permissive attitudes toward criminals and hostile ones toward police have seen an alarming increase in crime. This blog post delves deeper into these insights and emphasizes the role of policy decisions at the state and local levels in shaping crime trends.
Many media outlets have highlighted the decline in national violent crime rates, pointing to a 1.3% drop in 2022, bringing the rate on par with that of 2019.
Despite the apparent return to pre-pandemic levels, the country remains well above normal violent crime rates, with total violent crime in 2022 being 5% higher than in 2014, and the national homicide rate being 43% higher.
What explains these significant differences in crime rates among cities? Josh argues that the key factor is public safety policy. In cities like Washington, Seattle, and San Francisco, permissive attitudes toward criminals and a lack of support for law enforcement have created an environment conducive to crime. Washington, for instance, significantly defunded the police twice in recent years and attempted to reduce penalties for carjackings in 2022, even as auto-theft rates were rising. In contrast, Atlanta, Dallas, and Miami treat crime as a serious problem and have taken measures to address it. Atlanta has led a robust anti-gang effort, Dallas has implemented targeted policing in crime hot spots, and Miami has remained committed to law enforcement.
The increase in violent crime observed post-2014 and post-2019 is not easily attributable to the COVID-19 pandemic but rather to a series of detrimental policies that gained traction in 2020. These policies – included efforts to defund the police, reduce penalties for violent crimes, and legalize hard drugs – have contributed to the surge in crime in various cities, obscuring the responsibility of the self-styled progressive politicians who pushed for them.
To gain a comprehensive understanding of the factors driving crime in the United States, it is essential to look beyond pandemic-related explanations. COVID-19 is not the sole driver of the diverging crime trends observed in progressive enclaves and cities where law and order are being restored. Instead, the primary culprits are the policy decisions made at the state and local levels. Recognizing the impact of public safety policies is crucial for addressing the root causes of crime and working toward safer communities.
To learn more and read the full opinion editorial in the Wall Street Journal, click here.
Representatives from Cure Violence Columbus and the Georgia Center For Opportunity are bringing what they call The Columbus Empowerment Network to the city, and they say having a collaborative like this will help the people in the community get involved and make the changes they want to see in their communities.
According to the Columbus Police Department, this year in Columbus there have been 36 murders, 25 rapes, 185 robberies, 465 aggravated assaults, 683 burglaries…..these are just a few statics from January 1st of this year through October 16th.
Columbus resident James Stokes said he saw a shooting earlier this year near Fuel Tech on Ft. Benning Road and he says it’s a normal thing…
Violent crime is on the rise in Columbus, Georgia. What are the reasons, and can anything be done to stop it? Those questions are the topic of a new report from the Georgia Center for Opportunity (GCO) focused on Columbus’ recent spike in crime and ideas on how to mitigate it.
Titled “Reducing Crime in Columbus: Safer Communities Through Policy,” the report is authored by Josh Crawford, Director of Criminal Justice Initiatives at GCO.
Our Columbus Crime Report details six practical solutions that city leaders can use to reduce crime in Columbus and restore safety, hope, and opportunity to the broader community.
“Since 2017, crime has been on the rise in Columbus. And it’s only gotten worse during the COVID-19 pandemic,” Crawford said. “It’s imperative that city and community leaders come together to solve this problem. Our new report provides the groundwork.”
“The human cost of this violence is dramatic, cutting lives short and leaving behind grieving families and fractured communities,” Crawford said. “The toll of violent crime goes beyond the physical cost to those directly impacted and includes financial costs to victims and taxpayers, the loss of productive years, and decreased economic mobility and growth in communities afflicted with high rates of crime.”
Fixing the Columbus crime problem is about focusing on the most violent offenders. By addressing gang-related violence and solving more homicide investigations, Columbus can restore community safety, improve trust with city officials and law enforcement, and expand upward mobility and opportunity for residents.
Josh Crawford is a native of Massachusetts. He went to Penn State for his undergraduate degree and then finished law school in Boston. After a brief stint in Sacramento, California, working in the county district attorney’s office, Josh moved to Kentucky to help start the Pegasus Institute, a nonpartisan organization designed to promote opportunity. In addition to serving as executive director of the organization, Josh had a special focus on criminal justice policy.
“By focusing on public safety and order, we can restore hope and opportunity to rural communities.”
A new Georgia program to grant academic eligibility for direct admission to Georgia’s 22 technical colleges is a “win for Georgia,” a leading business group said.
On Thursday, Gov. Brian Kemp, a Republican, and state leaders announced GEORGIA MATCH, which they touted as “one of the largest state-run direct admissions initiatives.”
Under the program, Georgia’s more than 120,000 high school seniors will receive a letter detailing the state institutions holding a spot for them for the fall 2024 semester and how they can claim a spot. In November, participating institutions will waive application fees for students who apply through GEORGIA MATCH.
“This new initiative will help students graduating from high school to better understand their post high school options,” Buzz Brockway, vice president of policy for the Georgia Center for Opportunity, said in a statement to The Center Square.