Ames Grawert

Trying to schedule a game night with four other dads

Taking public safety seriously means following the evidence and starting local.

Read more in the @brennancenter.org analysis that inspired this video, by me and @jchendrickson.bsky.social: www.brennancenter.org/our-work/ana...

Introduced my daughter to the “no vehicles in the park” law school hypo and so far she’s concluded that the rule DOES apply to bicycles because “parks are for play and you can play without a bike.”

It’s so exciting watching her learn to think through a problem; I’m so proud!

Today the Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing titled “Blue City Chaos and Tragedy: How the Trump Administration is Addressing the Human Cost of Soft On Crime Policies.” This is a false premise, and the hearing included discussion of several bad ideas that won’t make Americans safer 1/5

FYI NJT commuters --

The M&E and Gladstone lines are a complete mess and running on a revised schedule until further notice. You might've missed this news as NJT did very little to warn riders in advance.

What Actually Works to Fight Crime The administration’s plans to fight crime by dictating state bail policy or deploying the National Guard won’t build long-term safety, but there are many evidence-based ways to reduce crime.

The Administration's plans to fight crime using the National Guard are not the way to build real, lasting safety. Here's what the evidence shows can work, even as we continue to see national declines in crime. New from the @brennancenter.org:

www.brennancenter.org/our-work/ana...

Effects of Federal Funding Cuts on Public Safety The loss of Justice Department grants and other federal funds will hurt efforts to reduce crime in communities nationwide.

New analysis from my @brennancenter.org colleagues Dr. Josy Hahn and Ruby Nidiry. See our growing series on the fallout from Department of Justice funding cuts: www.brennancenter.org/series/effec...

Federal Cuts to Behavioral Health Will Harm Public Safety Law enforcement and public health professionals agree that initiatives such as mental health crisis response teams and drug treatment reduce arrests and incarceration.

"DOJ has slashed $88 million in grant awards for substance abuse treatment, mental health services, and programs that team police with health professionals," a move likely to hurt people struggling with these problems *and* burden law enforcement:

www.brennancenter.org/our-work/res...

What if NIH had been 40% smaller? Replaying history with less NIH funding shows widespread impacts on drug-linked research

This is interesting — in a paper out today, researchers created an alternate history to estimate what Trump's desired cuts to NIH would look like. Of 557 drugs approved 2000-2023, *more than half* are at least partially linked to NIH research that would have not happened under a 40% reduction.

What Actually Works to Fight Crime The administration’s plans to fight crime by dictating state bail policy or deploying the National Guard won’t build long-term safety, but there are many evidence-based ways to reduce crime.

If the Admin is serious about crime prevention & helping cities with crime rates, the work starts with listening to local leaders, following the evidence, & providing support, not with deploying the Guard. @amescg.bsky.social and I walk through the evidence in a new @brennancenter.org analysis:

What Actually Works to Fight Crime The administration’s plans to fight crime by dictating state bail policy or deploying the National Guard won’t build long-term safety, but there are many evidence-based ways to reduce crime.

From me and @jchendrickson.bsky.social:

www.brennancenter.org/our-work/ana...

What Actually Works to Fight Crime The administration’s plans to fight crime by dictating state bail policy or deploying the National Guard won’t build long-term safety, but there are many evidence-based ways to reduce crime.

The Administration's plans to fight crime using the National Guard are not the way to build real, lasting safety. Here's what the evidence shows can work, even as we continue to see national declines in crime. New from the @brennancenter.org:

www.brennancenter.org/our-work/ana...

I wanted to get a video of this ghost crab but every time I got close to their hole they scuttled back in, so I tried getting clever with it. I made a little sandcastle and shoved my phone into it, hit record, and walked away. Crab was VERY suspicious of this addition to their environment.

The Federal Prison Oversight Act, Explained In the wake of serious abuses, the 2024 law improves transparency and accountability in the nation’s largest prison system.

While the Federal Prison Oversight Act promises to bring much-needed accountability to U.S. prisons, it can only reach its full potential if Congress funds it and the Justice Department faithfully implements it.
bit.ly/3V8SO6J

Not a single word, but when I'm tired I flip homophones (e.g., "hear" instead of "here").

Unfortunately I have two kids and am always tired.

Sometimes it's nice to remember that even Marcus Aurelius was like "you don't have to comment on everything bro"

Cold War era spyplane: I can't live... with or without youuuuu...

Definitely NOT guacamole with peas…

Robert Jackson Bennett's "Drop of Corruption," the sequel to this year's Hugo winner ("The Tainted Cup"), is easily his best work to date, and I say this as a huge fan of pretty much everything he's written. Pick it up today if you're a scifi-fantasy reader and don't skip the Author's Note.

Colorverse is also drier at least in my experience, whereas Diamine is always well behaved. Maybe it’s just me though?

Today’s murder of Charlie Kirk is outrageous. It is part of a dangerous pattern of violence that threatens the safety of all communities. This violence is unacceptable and tears at the social fabric, and we must find a way to work together to end it.

Contextualizing Chicago's Enormous Drop in Shootings When was the last time Chicago had this few shootings?

New this week: Chicago likely has had fewer shootings through August year than any year since the mid-1960s. Gun violence remains a problem there, but I wrote about the city's encouraging trends and the data challenge of historically contextualizing this year.
jasher.substack.com/p/contextual...

President Trump recently signed two executive orders to end bail reform, claiming it threatens public safety. But Brennan Center research shows no clear link between bail reform and crime rates: bit.ly/4dkG58o

New account!!! Thrilled to see you :D

Better yet—

Bucket hat baby at the beach!

One of my friends asks, “how do you spend your time?” That way the person can answer with whatever is meaningful to them — work, hobby, or even a particularly notable sandwich.

Trump signs orders aimed at ending cashless bail, flag burning The moves are important to President Donald Trump’s base but might face legal challenges.

“If you are looking for a lever to reduce crime nationally, bail reform is not a lever I would pull.” — @amescg.bsky.social in @washingtonpost.com. Brennan Center research shows that bail reform has no statistically significant relationship with crime rates.

"One of the only national STUDIES of bail reform and crime." I see and regret the typo... 😓

Opinion | Kamala Harris and Rand Paul: To Shrink Jails, Let’s Reform Bail (Published 2017)

States have taken different approaches to improving their laws around cash bail, often with bipartisan support. Not so long ago a group of Republican and Democratic senators proposed using the federal government to *help* states who wanted to pass bail reform. www.nytimes.com/2017/07/20/o...

Bail Reform and Public Safety Data from 33 cities across the country discredits the claim that bail reform causes crime to increase.

What's the data say? There is no relationship between these reforms and crime. We used data from 33 states and examined their laws in detail. My colleague Dr. Terry-Ann Craigie then carefully studied whether crime rates changed after reforms were implemented. www.brennancenter.org/our-work/res...