Still reeling from the coronavirus pandemic and protests over the George Floyd killing, cities around the nation are facing another challenge: a surge in shootings that has left dozens dead. Experts say the spike in violence defies easy explanation. https://t.co/YhOc15Jp47
— The Associated Press (@AP) July 8, 2020
That’s what we pay experts for: To say that the spike in violence since, roughly, May 24, 2020 defies easy explanation:
Tracie Keesee, a longtime police official in Denver and New York who co-founded the Center for Policing Equity, said it’s important to get answers on what is driving the crime, whether it’s drugs, domestic violence or poverty. She cautioned against broad-stroke generalizations.
“You have to get into the numbers,” she said.
Reform advocates say blaming a spike on the necessary push for police reform ignores the root causes of crime and the progress of the movement.
Government officials need to “be thoughtful and nuanced and contextual about these things,” liberal New York City Council Speaker Corey Johnson told radio station WNYC this week.
To link the shootings to reforms, Johnson added, gives “an inaccurate picture of what criminal justice reform is about and is just demonizing the moment that we’re in and not talking about what brought us here today.”
Now that’s some persuasive expertiseing …
Chicago Mayor Says Fourth Of July Weekend Was 'Mostly Peaceful' https://t.co/aig5m6Z8gI
