When Crime Data Becomes Politicized

This week, the FBI released new crime statistics showing 17,250 homicides in the US last year, an increase of over 8.5% from the year prior. The right-wing media quickly sprang into action: Breitbart’s headline read: “FBI Data: Post-Ferguson Murder Spike Reaches 3761 Dead,” while the Daily Caller declared, “The FBI Just Confirmed What Sessions Has Been Saying About Violent Crime.” (For his part, Jeff Sessions responded with a predictable message of doom about "surrender[ing] our communities to lawlessness and violence.”) The left-wing response, meanwhile, came with its own politicized interpretation, downplaying the spike and shifting the focus to the apparent root causes of crime. Bob speaks with Thomas Abt, a senior fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School and Harvard Law School and a former deputy secretary for public safety for New York State, about how politicking gets in the way of implementing workable solutions.

Song:

Cops or Criminals (feat. G.E. Smith) by Howard Shore