April 17, 2023 – Reading crime stats…
Reading crime stats:
Every time there is an election in the air, the politicos and the media focus on crime stats to insert a well-known formula of political propaganda – crime stats are going up, policing needs more money, punishments need to be more severe. In a moment of somber reflection we may want to pause and ask why the formula continues to fail in spite of regular doses of this formula. Here are a selection of articles and link that explore the issue. As usual, there is a question of the interpretation and conclusions drawn from the statistics.
National Post – Tristin Hopper
Canada is seeing violent crime like never before. What’s behind the wave of killings and attacks – Untreated mental illness and ‘prolific offenders’ have left a rising number of Canadians fearing for their safety
This article holds up mental health (stranger attacks) and the bail system (prolific offenders) as the two leading causes of the reported increase in crime. The sources for the article are police agencies (with a vested interest in bigger budgets) and politicians. The article has prompted a flurry of rebuttal. https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/canadas-violent-crime-wave
Tweet from Eric S (Defundgtapolice) on crime and the media: “THREAD. Two days ago the National Post published an atrocious, anti-factual and outright fear mongering piece of copaganda that they decided to post on the FRONT PAGE on their Newspaper. I intend here to debunk the claims in the article using the methods of @equalityAlec https://t.co/2jJwNAzcAk
(https://twitter.com/Defundgtapolice/status/1647718016023511040?t=RieZ4TW6kW_KeR6k9cybkA&s=03) (Ed note: This link is a fully developed thread and a forceful response to the typical media play around crime, crime stats, police deaths, deaths in custody and so on, all with substantiating other links of support. Well worthwhile for any advocate.)
Tweet from Alex Karakatsanis on N.Y. Times crime reporting: “ THREAD. This paragraph from the New York Times story on the murder of a tech executive in San Francisco is extremely revealing, and not in a good way. It represents one of the most subtle but significant pathologies in contemporary crime discourse.” https://t.co/6apThPSx9L
(https://twitter.com/equalityAlec/status/1646633158488489985?t=ZnXTHlC7YnrBJ7-pKvokbg&s=03)
Toronto Star – Kent Roach
They pled guilty — but were wrongfully convicted. Canada’s courts continue to have a blind spot – Author and scholar Kent Roach looks back on Gladue case, where he argues the accused felt the need to plead guilty despite having a valid defence.
Roach argues that Canada has an on-going problem with wrongful convictions, even in some cases that include ‘confession.’ “The Canadian Registry of Wrongful Convictions shows that 15 of the 83 entered a guilty plea. Moreover, 73 per cent of these false guilty pleas in Canada (11 of 15) were made by women, Indigenous or racialized persons, or by those who suffered from a mental disability.” https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2023/04/16/they-pled-guilty-but-were-wrongfully-convicted-canadas-courts-continue-to-have-a-blind-spot.html?li_source=LI&li_medium=thestar_canada
A response to Pierre Polievre’s claim of prolific offenders:
True North – Rachel Emmanuel – Poilievre says ‘jail not bail’ as Canadian cities hit with crime wave https://tnc.news/2023/04/13/poilievre-jail-not-bail/
Tweet from Michael Spratt on Poilievre’s claims: “Calling on criminal lawyers, criminologists, people on the ground, hell even cops: I don’t think this is possible? 150 arrests per person per year. Even 150 charges per person per year? And how did he get such granular data? I have never seen this, has anyone?” https://twitter.com/mspratt/status/1646840439025160199/photo/1
Toronto Star – Jennifer Pagliaro and Kelly Skjerven
Inside the trail of offences that allegedly ended in an ‘unprovoked’ killing on the TTC – The documents behind Jordan O’Brien-Tobin’s lengthy criminal history reveal a justice system that appeared acutely aware of the risks he posed.
The reporters draw attention to the history of accused murderer 22-year-old Jordan O’Brien-Tobin in the case of 16-year-old Gabriel Magalhaes who was stabbed, seemingly randomly, on the Toronto subway. https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2023/04/15/inside-the-trail-of-offences-that-allegedly-ended-in-an-unprovoked-killing-on-the-ttc.html?source=newsletter&utm_source=ts_nl&utm_medium=email&utm_email=404CAADEF7EB839FC77B1B04F0C251E1&utm_campaign=bn_176693
CBC News – Bethany Lindsay
Canadian coroners starting to reject excited delirium as cause of police-related deaths – North American doctors and psychiatrists are also questioning contentious explanation for sudden deaths
‘Excited delerium’ has been used as an explanation of deaths in custody for some time but is starting to wear thin with Canada’s coroners. https://www.cbc.ca/news/health/coroners-excited-delirium-1.6811083
Tweet from Steven Donziger on graphic images: “Lashawn Thompson (below) died after being devoured by insects and brutalized for 3 months in a filthy cell in the Atlanta jail. He never was convicted of a crime and had been charged with a misdemeanor. State-sanctioned torture.”
https://t.co/3STXIQuGUs https://t.co/jPt4pkuRur
(https://twitter.com/SDonziger/status/1647644738093297668?t=pQxcSj2x5Qs5aYYhcvnhXg&s=03)
Tweet from Ed Krassenstein (US) on the rarely mentioned crime stats: Republicans love to paint the picture that Democrat leaders are to blame for the murder rates in their cities… Here are some stats and facts: – In 2020, under President Trump, the murder rate jumped 30%. In 2021, under Biden, it jumped 6%. In 2022, under Biden, the murder rate… https://t.co/pZTFOAJjin
(https://twitter.com/EdKrassen/status/1647928598827868160?t=5tmzcI-k2PtcjBcpm9U3fQ&s=03)
Politico (US) – Gary Fineout
DeSantis wants to make it easier to execute criminals — with an eye toward Supreme Court – Former President Donald Trump’s allies have criticized the governor’s criminal justice record.
The link offers the usual Republican fallback to tough-on-crime: DeSantis and Mike Pence are both suggesting more and faster executions and for added crimes. https://www.politico.com/news/2023/04/17/desantis-scotus-death-penalty-00092142
CNN – (US) – Daniel Dale
Fact check: Here’s the truth about crime in Manhattan This report examines the crime rates in Manhattan. There are notable surprises when the comparison is made between largest and smaller cities, adjusted for population. https://www.cnn.com/2023/04/17/politics/fact-check-manhattan-crime-trump-bragg/?dicbo=v2-9nxQEaS&hpt=ob_blogfooterold
University Magazine (Canada) – Anwar Abdi
Cities with the highest crime rates in Canada – Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, and Halifax don’t even make the list. https://www.universitymagazine.ca/cities-with-highest-crime-rate-in-canada/
Toronto Star – David Bosveld and Nokha Dakroub
A shame Peel police board appointment pitched equity-seeking groups against each other – Propelling a system that pits under-represented communities against one another is not equity work. Equity work is about making room for all voices.
An effort to hear community voices for equity is sometimes hindered by pitting one group against another instead of genuine equity. https://www.thestar.com/opinion/contributors/2023/04/18/a-shame-peel-police-board-appointment-pitched-equity-seeking-groups-against-each-other.html?source=newsletter&utm_content=a08&utm_source=ts_nl&utm_medium=email&utm_email=404CAADEF7EB839FC77B1B04F0C251E1&utm_campaign=top_177220