Chuck Wexler, executive director of the Police Executive Research Forum, is commending the news media for recognizing that “police departments have a much grater impact on crime rates than they did a generation ago.” Writing in his group’s publication, Subject to Debate, Wexler cited an article in USA Today and editorials in the Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, and Minneapolis Star Tribune.
Wexler says one reason crime rates are dropping is that “in city after city, police are working to figure out the ‘who, what, when, where, how, and why’ of homicides and other violent crimes, and then they try to break up the patterns. High levels of crime are no longer seen as inevitable.” Wexler gave examples of police tactics in various cities, including Los Angeles, San Francisco, Minneapolis, Milwaukee, and Philadelphia.