Public safety is largely about social conditions and the extent to which people feel secure, not only in their own homes but in their communities in terms of housing and healthcare and education, food supply. If those things are all taken care of, you don't need policing as much as you would otherwise.
WNYC –30 Issues: Who is the Real Law and Order Candidate?
Participated in a discussion as part of the Brian Lehrer show on WNYC.
WNYC — The ‘Cure Violence’ Model of Public Safety
Jeffrey Butts, Shadoe Tarver, and Jessica Mofield explain how many communities in New York City are working with Cure Violence groups to reduce shootings.
Podcast Interview
In a podcast interview with the Harris School of Public Policy at the University of Chicago, I discussed gun violence prevention and the need to maintain a balanced evidence base.
New York Public Radio– The Docket: The Tessa Majors Case and the State of New York’s Juvenile Justice System
The Tessa Majors case is a test for New York's recently-enacted Raise The Age law, which barred the state from automatically prosecuting 16- and 17-year-olds as adults. Jeffrey Butts, who leads John Jay College's Research and Evaluation Center, told Floyd that this is the exact kind of case that the law's critics could use as leverage to reverse it.
WRVA NewsRadio—Immigration and Crime
Researchers have been looking at this for a number of years, and the conclusion that most people reach is "no." ... There is no direct link, or there is no differential probability of crime due to the size of your immigrant population.
WRVA NewsRadio—Changing Crime Rates
It's really hard to just point to one thing. The problem with the crime debate right now is that there are so many people who want to point to just one thing. ... Everyone wants to claim credit.
WNYC — Waiting for Violence to Break Out
“We don’t divulge matters that we work hard on to the police, and the police know that about us,” Mitchell said. “We're not sharing information that may be helpful in some sort of investigation. That's not or role." That code of silence lead to the demise of a Cure Violence group in Chicago, according to Jeffrey Butts, director of the research and evaluation center at John Jay College. "The precinct can feel aggrieved to find out this whole episode of violence that just happened was known, that people knew that it was about to happen and no one told the police,” Butts said.
Wisconsin Public Radio—”Knockout Game” and Media Responsibility
November 26, 2013 - 7:00 a.m. (CST) A growing number of stories involving teens punching random people, knocking them unconscious, are being reported across the country. Joy Cardin’s guest criminologist discusses the “Knockout Game,” why he says the media is reacting “hysterically” to the matter, and what can be done about it.