Gangs are re-emerging in Escondido, prompting the PD to reinstate the Gang crew. Former Assistant DA in Sacramento and former Senior Fellow at the California Justice Legal Foundation, and now Director of Criminal Justice Initiatives at the Georgia Center for Opportunity, Josh Crawford, joins Conway and Larson on iHeart Radio to discuss policing issues and effective strategies to combat gang activity.
In a compelling episode of The Voice of Reason, host Andy Hooser welcomes Josh Crawford to discuss the critical issues surrounding criminal justice reform. With his extensive expertise in public safety, Josh delves into the current state of the criminal justice system, highlighting the challenges and potential solutions for reform. He also explores the significant impact that the upcoming Presidential election could have on these reforms, providing insightful analysis and thought-provoking perspectives.
Listeners will gain a deeper understanding of the complexities involved in criminal justice reform and the importance of informed decision-making in the political sphere. Don’t miss this enlightening conversation that sheds light on one of the most pressing issues of our time.
Listen to the full interview here.
BY JOSHUA CRAWFORD, OPINION CONTRIBUTOR
With the announcement that President Biden and former President Trump will debate in Atlanta in June, the 2024 election cycle is in full swing. Many Americans are not enthused.
Earlier this year, 67 percent of respondents told a pollster that they were “tired of seeing the same candidates in presidential elections and want someone new.” In fact, 30 percent of voters think that neither Biden nor Trump “did more to help people like them,” 29 percent think that neither will be a good president and 26 percent of Americans have a negative view of both candidates.
Josh Crawford, director of Criminal Justice Initiatives at the Georgia Center for Opportunity, joined The Bill Cunningham Show to discuss how crime is likely to influence the upcoming November election. Tune in to hear his expert analysis on this crucial issue.
Josh Crawford, director of Criminal Justice Initiatives at the Georgia Center for Opportunity and a public safety policy leader, recently appeared on The Steve Gruber Show. In his interview, he explores the growing crime divide between Americans and politicians and how voters are responding. Don’t miss this insightful discussion.
Atlanta’s City Council has adopted its budget for 2025, which includes $29.8 million for public safety funding as well as a 3.8% increase in the number of authorized positions within the police department.
This is good news for the city. In the first quarter of 2024, murders in Atlanta were up 15%—a trend that runs opposite to other major cities and to Atlanta’s own drop in violent crime in 2023.
While it’s not helpful to overreact to changes during such a short period of time, the increase is a reminder that Atlanta must keep prioritizing best practices to lower crime, reduce fear, and foster an environment where opportunity can thrive.
Atlanta, like many cities around the country, began to see increased homicides in the late 2010s that then exploded with the onset of the COVID-19 lockdowns, urban unrest, and changes in policing practices in 2020. Atlanta then had three of its deadliest years in decades in 2020, 2021, and 2022.
Thankfully Atlanta’s elected leaders have not sat by idle. By investing more in policing, Atlanta Mayor Dickens and the city council are attempting a time-tested truism: more police means less crime.
Police are the element of the criminal justice system most visible to the public and the arm with which citizens are most likely to interact. As Eastern Kentucky University professor Dr. Gary Potter puts it, “[t]he American system of criminal justice is predicated on an assumption of effective policing. After all, in order to deter criminals and punish the evil-doers you have to catch them.”
This is more than theoretical. Research on policing and crime has repeatedly found that more well-managed police leads to less crime. Most recently, a 2018 study looked at police and crime data from 1960 through 2010 and concluded that every $1 spent on policing generates about $1.63 in social benefits, mostly through reductions in homicides.
Atlanta’s public safety funding will go to more than just additional police staffing and pay incentives for officers. Other allocations include:
Of particular importance are the funds allocated for additional cameras.
Washington, D.C., which until recently had been plagued by skyrocketing homicides and carjackings, recently implemented a similar expanded security camera program. As a result of the program, DC chief of police Pamela Smith recently revealed a substantial increase in arrests for shootings, carjackings, and robberies. Importantly, she also noted an increase in cooperation from crime-weary citizens due to increased trust in the department.
Hopefully the new investments will produce similar results in Atlanta, where residents are equally crime-weary and hoping for relief.
How to reduce crime in Atlanta: Six practical policy methods (Georgia Center for Opportunity)
A path that could reduce Atlanta’s juvenile crime (Josh Crawford in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
There’s hope for reducing Crime in Georgia (Georgia Center for Opportunity)
There’s a crime divide between Americans and politicians, and voters are watching (Josh Crawford in The Hill)
