Criminology | Penn Today

Homicides are up, but GOP misleads with claims about blame

David Abrams of the Law School spoke about fluctuating crime rates during the pandemic. “Any theory explaining the rise in homicides would also have to explain why we haven’t seen a spike in other kinds of crimes,” he said.

America’s dangerous obsession with innocence

Marissa Bluestine of the Law School’s Quattrone Center for the Fair Administration of Justice spoke about the numerous innocence organizations working to exonerate wrongfully convicted people on death row in the U.S.

Voters didn’t buy that soaring gun violence is Larry Krasner’s fault. Neither do experts

Marie Gottschalk of the School of Arts & Sciences spoke about Larry Krasner’s tenure as Philadelphia’s district attorney. “Prosecutors have enormous discretion, but they don’t singlehandedly move the crime rate. They contribute to a wider culture of how you deal with crime,” she said. “Even if [crime] went dramatically down right now, I wouldn’t say, ‘Oh, that’s because of Larry Krasner.’”

Philadelphia’s progressive district attorney fends off democratic challenger

David Abrams of the Law School said any hypothesis on the recent rise in homicides and shootings would also have to consider the overall decline in crime. “There are a ton of theories, almost none of which fit all the facts,” he said.

With violence rising, can a gentler prosecutor keep his seat?

Richard Berk of the School of Arts & Sciences said the rise in gun violence could be linked to police pulling back in response to public scrutiny but cautioned against jumping to conclusions.

How would the mayoral candidates get guns off New York streets?

Richard Berk of the School of Arts & Sciences said an increase in gun violence may be tied to the pandemic, which has interfered with after-school programming and slowed the legal system’s ability to process cases.

Three women wearing face masks and office dress clothes stand on a pathway with a tree full of pink flowers behind them

Hope and help for wrongfully incarcerated Pennsylvanians

With Project HOPE, President’s Engagement Prize winners Carson Eckhard, Natalia Rommen, and Sarah Simon will address the lack of support to wrongfully incarcerated people in Philadelphia and across the state.

Fingers holding a small glass vial of methadone.

Medication access for opioid use disorder lower among those in criminal justice system

Penn Medicine research finds Medicaid expansion helps increase access to medications for opioid use disorder, but limitations exist to broadening access.

Two incarcerated people seen from above and behind with their hands handcuffed behind their backs outside in a prison yard.

Annenberg researchers use data science skills for social justice

Data scientists at the Annenberg School for Communication are working with the Amistad Law Project to create an open access dashboard of data that can aid efforts to help the incarcerated communiy.

Did ‘defund the police’ lead to an increase in murder? Almost certainly not

David Abrams of the Law School said the timing of a spike in murders corresponded with changes in policing and cities lifting pandemic stay-at-home orders. “I have not seen any analysis that has found a causal link between movements to change police funding and homicide rates in major cities,” he said.

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