Building the CVI evidence base for the future will require theoretically informed, intentionally causal evaluation studies.
Building the CVI evidence base for the future will require theoretically informed, intentionally causal evaluation studies.
Crime data can inform news reporting across many topics, from local government and legal affairs to economics and immigration. It’s important to know where to find reliable data and how to use it responsibly.
Jeffrey A. Butts, executive director of the Research and Evaluation Center at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York, noted that even in Washington, federal resources are not actually being targeted where they would make the most difference, in high-crime neighborhoods far from the photogenic monuments and government buildings where National Guard troops are patrolling.
“He’s not really taking on street crime,” said Jeffrey A. Butts, a professor at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York. “He’s using the crime issue for political posturing and political gain.”
Public officials may point to “juvenile” crime when responding to public concerns about community safety. Recent statements by federal officials echo the political rhetoric of the 1990s when politicians across the country blamed young people for what were actually generalized increases in crime.
“In Midtown, and in most of Manhattan, your chances of being harmed personally by crime are quite low,” said Jeffrey A. Butts, director of the Research and Evaluation Center at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice. “The people most at risk are in the disadvantaged, economically excluded neighborhoods.”