Speaking of trust...
What If Everything You Know About Murder Rates and Policing Is Wrong? – Mother Jones
Homicides across the United States rose by an estimated 30 percent in 2020, the largest one-year increase on record, according to
recently released data from the FBI. But don’t jump to conclusions about what that means.
As soon as the FBI shared this eye-popping statistic in late September, a
flood of
fear-inducing headlines made it seem like Americans are now living through a massive wave of violence. Police chiefs, mayors, and journalists quickly speculated about the possible causes for the uptick, often
blaming (without evidence) protests to defund law enforcement and stop police brutality.
Don’t believe them. “It is very advantageous for police to weaponize this tragedy,” says Scott Hechinger, a former public defender in New York who now leads the advocacy group Zealous and has
criticized the
New York Times, NPR, and others for their coverage of the killings. Fearmongering about crime has for decades been a way for politicians and other officials to funnel more money to cops and prisons, win elections, and undermine Black people’s popular protests for civil rights. “But,” says Hechinger, “it ignores a lot of truths.”