Charts I made of the homicide rate for whites and blacks, going back to 1968. (2025 is an estimate)

I have a new blog post on murders being down in most cities. It's happening nearly everywhere. It's still not a "trend." qualitypolicing.com/murders-down...

I've confirmed that San Francisco, Bridgeport, Baltimore, Chicago and Philadelphia hit the lowest levels since before 1970 this year. New Orleans tied 2019 for the lowest since 1970. Still waiting on data from the other cities but likely to check out.

"Peter Moskos’s Back from the Brink is both oral history and urban epic." 2026 starts strong! "Urban epic" sure has a nice ring to it. From Michael Fortner's review of "Back from the Brink," just out today in the Washington Monthly. Positive _and_ insightful! washingtonmonthly.com/2026/01/01/h...

Pigeon Pic of the Day

Why yes, for those who prefer to listen, my book "Back from the Brink" *is* available on audio. And yes, it does make a great Christmas present for yourself and your loved ones. And all for the low low price of $21.49! Or buy a ten pack for just $214.90 and give them out like candy. amzn.to/3MONwfW

If you like ambient sound or any sound, check this out: mynoise.net It's a great website. (It's so great it's in the acknowledgement of my book "Back from the Brink." I honestly don't think I could have focused enough to write it without "Japanese Garden")

Almost half of the non-European population of New Zealand is Maori. There's no way to pretend that this kind of racial thinking in that context is anything but exterminationist.

Great book review of "Back from the Brink" (my book) by Richard Day in "A City that Works": "A dark, funny and insightful oral history covering the inner workings of the department. It’s also deeply inspiring. It’s hard to recommend highly enough." citythatworks.substack.com/p/book-revie...

I wrote for @theguardian.com on Trump using the National Guard shooting to demonize Afghans refugees — and how the US has yet to reckon with the blowback caused by its foreign invasions and war on terror | www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Cool. Look who is tops on the "Urban Optimist Holiday Gift Guide"? My book! Back from the Brink. It does indeed make a great stocking stuffer. Buy it right now, before you forget! amzn.to/48wt2j5 p.s. It's good for pessimists, too! www.vitalcitynyc.org/articles/the...

Chicago has the worst mayor in the US. He had a brief respite cosplaying as a resistance hero while Bovino was here; now he is back to his usual insanity. Why would you limit the number of people SPENDING MONEY ON SMALL BUSINESSES? @mayorofchicago.bsky.social chicago.suntimes.com/business/202...

Wow Peter, this was a gift! Whenever I would tell people that Tony was responsible for the 1st reduction they would look at me sideways and then he came back and did it again and I was like

My newly rediscovered 2017 phone call with Baltimore Police legend Tony Barksdale. On how to police down violence and save lives. That was all he cared about. And he succeeded. Rest in peace. qualitypolicing.com/qpp-63-tony-...

Miss baseball? Watch this: www.youtube.com/watch?v=tPfL...

Bill Bratton came in to speak to my master's program today. Three legends and me. John Miller, Bill Bratton, Chauncey Parker. This was a good class.

"Rates of imprisonment have grown dramatically in the last 40 years." What a fabulously hilarious progressive spin on their own data/chart which shows NY incarceration rates in massive decline over the past 30 years! www.prisonpolicy.org/profiles/NY....

For those who insist poverty is the driving force behind crime and violence, please answer me this: From 1990 to 2000, NYC saw a 20.5% increase in people living in poverty (a 10% increase in rate). 283,994 more people! How did murders simultaneously drop by two-thirds in 1990s NYC?

A slogan has ONE FUCKING JOB. Epic fail. Also Abolish Prisons. Goddam pratfall. Oh, and every time someone arrives on a thread to explain to me that it doesn't mean defund the entire agency, or abolish all incarceration, two others chime in to say yes, it does mean that. So more failure.

ACAB and Defund The Police -- the two most destructive messaging efforts from sloganeers who don't actually want to fix a fucking thing and will, at every opportunity, alienate the entire electorate from actual police reform for the sheer pleasure of their own self-regarding purities. Eat a dick.

On "bail reform." Does it "work"?

Your occasional reminder that in NYC the vast majority of criminal cases are not prosecuted. In the Bronx just 22% of felony and 12% of misdemeanor arrests result in a conviction. (Outside NYC, in the rest of the state, the figures are 67% and 52%, respectively.) qualitypolicing.com/same-city-di...

Yes, your honor, we received and sold stolen goods, but if there was no market for such we wouldn't have done so. Our customers are to blame. We live in a golden age of shamelessness and grift.

I discuss NY Bail Reform with the authors of 5 reports on bail reform. If you care about bail reform (or think it works perfectly or it's all bad) it behooves you to listen to this Quality Policing Podcast episode. It's a deep hour-long dive. qualitypolicing.com/qpp-62-bail-...

“There were no political or religious motivations. They were rich people who went there for fun and personal satisfaction. We are talking about people who love guns who perhaps go to shooting ranges or on safari in Africa.” www.theguardian.com/world/2025/n...

[Excuse me while I hit my head against a wall.]

I guess you can't sell the parking meters twice

I legit can’t figure out the play on these FAA flight cancellations. Who’s the White House trying to pressure. And who do they think people are gonna get mad at when Thanksgiving goes down the drain?

So sad. Tony was a great guy. And his leadership saved so many lives. Only 53. www.thebanner.com/obituaries/a...

The non-stop Maddrey, Kaz, Shell scandals plus the Adams/Banks strategy of trying to suppress crime by blanketing the city in OT shifts really has done a number on PD morale — hellgatenyc.com/three-nypd-c...

China bought 30 million metric tons of soybeans from the US last year. This year under Trump it will be 12 million.

Absurdest protest is so much better (ie: more effective in actually helping your cause) than passionate yelling or breaking-shit or blocking-traffic protest.

The L flag flying above Wrigley tonight

"Man, 64, Is Fatally Beaten in a Subway Station After Chance Encounter" The murderer “still had anger issues,” said a rehabilitation counselor. And a long criminal history. And 4 arrests since June 21. He's obviously dangerous and not well, so… we release him till he murders?

This is the book I've been waiting for: "Chasing Change in Camden." amazon.com/Chasing-Chan... Also, I follow John. He follows me. And yet somehow the algorithm didn't let me know about this book until today? I hope @shjarback-ccj.bsky.social knows about about _my_ book.

Serious (or at least sincere) question: In terms of two factor authentication, why is my phone considered more secure than my home computer?

Washington state had this problem with their LEOFF system (Law Enforcement Officers & Fire Fighters retirement plan). Lots of guys going out on lifetime disability for a minor injury. We totally overhauled the system in 1977 & created LEOFF2. Problem mostly solved.

It is scandalous that every big NYPD chief happens to be "disabled" when they retire. "Tax free 3/4 of his salery life time benefits... because of an ankle injury he received on Randall's Island while on duty last year." Bullshit. This is corruption. www.nydailynews.com/2025/10/06/t...

I've taken enough moon pictures to know they never really work, but the moon was rising over Central Park and it was really beautiful, you'll just have to trust me.

Serious question: What's stopping the State of Illinois from arresting Stephen Miller & charging him with incitement? The Senate didn't confirm him. He's just a guy. At some point, the states MUST use their authority to prosecute, because the federal government certainly will not.

Again and again I’m simply blown away at the idea of someone brain damaged enough to watch him do this and think “hell yeah”

From a NYC park bathroom today. Seems like a very fair request.

Working on your PhD? Consider applying for a Horowitz Foundation for Social Policy $10,000 no-strings-attached research grant. We award 20(!) of them. December 1 deadline. (FWIW, I'd love to see more qualitative and criminal-justice related applications!) www.horowitz-foundation.org/faq

Win elections. Not words. Deeds.

Yet another in a string of recent national security stories that you wouldn’t have read if the @washingtonpost.com didn’t break them www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...

Why _does_ the left so casually celebrate cop killers? How does this not normalize political violence? I mean the BLA cop killers were _overtly_ politically violent. They killed cops. That should be more defining that "acupuncturist." A deep dive by Michael Moynihan. www.youtube.com/live/4_VFzl2...

I was reminded by a student today that when one witnesses two shootings in 2 weeks where one lives, "crime is down" is of little solace.