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Has Criminal Justice Reform Made Us Less Safe? A Debate.
A group of prison inmates at the Sumter County Correctional Institution in Bushnell, Florida. (Bettmann via Getty Images)
Over the past two years, the U.S. has experienced the largest crime surge in decades. A former public defender and a public safety expert weigh in.
By Rafael A. Mangual and Lara Bazelon
10.29.22
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Over the past two years, the United States has experienced the largest crime surge in decades. Aggravated assaults went up. Shoplifting went up. Domestic violence went up. Homicides went up. In 2020, the U.S. murder rate rose 30 percent—the largest single year increase in recorded U.S. history.

Why is this happening? Is criminal justice reform the probl…

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Rafael A. Mangual
Nick Ohnell Fellow and Head of Research for Policing & Public Safety at the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research, and the author of Criminal (In)Justice: What the push for decarceration and depolicing gets wrong and who it hurts most.
Lara Bazelon
Lara Bazelon is a trial lawyer and law professor. She fights for the underdog and writes about crime. Her second novel, THE ACCUSER, will be serialized on Substack.
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