Violent Crime Is Spiking. Do Liberals Have an Answer?
About this episode
James Forman Jr. discusses the sharp rise in homicides in 2020 and 2021 and why violence devastates Black communities far beyond its immediate victims. He explains how fear of crime can fuel punitive, even authoritarian politics, while also showing that many Black Americans supported tough-on-crime policies in the 1970s through the 1990s — including mandatory minimums — even as others in those communities dissented. They examine the multiple causes of the 1990s crime drop, the modest contribution of mass incarceration, and how abusive, humiliating policing can itself generate crime and destroy trust. Forman argues that many people want both police protection and police reform, and they explore alternatives: non-police crisis teams, violence interrupters, hospital-based outreach, restorative justice, and better-funded homicide investigations. He also worries that 'defund' rhetoric alienates potential allies.