VaughnMar 9
HeavenlyPossum

Well well well would you look at that:

“The low point in violent crime has arrived even though large police departments employed 6 percent fewer officers going into 2025 than they did at the beginning of 2020, according to a survey by the Police Executive Research Forum. Though they were mostly not in fact defunded, police forces were rocked by retirements and departures. New Orleans lost nearly a quarter of its officers in the years after the pandemic—and then recorded its lowest homicide rate since the 1970s in 2025. Philadelphia had its lowest per-capita police staffing since 1985—and just clocked its lowest murder rate since 1966.”

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/01/great-crime-decline/685695/?gift=1SbYZC9ibNUWbkW55Dp60vEhEml04LWtQPZJDK2f5XQ&utm_source=copy-link&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=share

The Great Crime Decline Is Happening All Across the Country

Even cities with understaffed police departments have made record gains.

The Atlantic
Mar 9 at 5:25pmWeb
Show threadHeavenlyPossumMar 9
Yes, it’s The Atlantic. At least it’s a gift link i pilfered elsewhere.
Show threadway mo bonfiresMar 9

@HeavenlyPossum great headline & excerpt...

disappointing article unsurprisingly, waxing lyrical about improvements in "community policing & public trust"

Show threadHeavenlyPossumMar 9

@chingalamigra

Yeah, you can’t expect too much from a liberal propaganda outlet like The Atlantic.

Show threadQybatMar 9

@HeavenlyPossum There are lots of theories as to why, and no firm support of any of them.

I am drawn to the most depressing explanation: It's the same reason dance clubs and pubs are struggling, there are reporters warning of a 'loneliness epidemic' and shopping centers are dying. People aren't going out doors for fun any more. If you're not out there meeting your future gang members and getting drunk, you're not going to be out doing crimes either.