Dr. Cian Ó Concubhair argues that it is impossible to know whether recent violent incidents represent an overall change in the prevalence of crime because of the poor quality of the nation’s crime data. Furthermore, the fact that An Garda Síochána rarely conducts systematic self-evaluation of its practices ill equips it to judge which of its interventions are more effective at reducing crime than others. You can read Cian's piece here.
Dr. Wozniak and Dr. Marder caution that recent media coverage could be evidence of a growing ‘moral panic’ that overestimates the real risks of victimization, and they summarize cross-national evidence that ‘zero tolerance’ policing tactics were not as effective as many politicians and commentators believe. Even worse, zero tolerance policing disproportionately harmed minority communities where it was implemented in the USA and UK. You can read this piece here.